


The Hidden Abyss

by AmicablePandemonium



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dark Harry Potter, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 13:53:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20875298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmicablePandemonium/pseuds/AmicablePandemonium
Summary: Being able to communicate with Tom Riddle in his mind from an early age, Harry quickly learns the truth about Dumbledore and death of his parents. Join Harry as he helps bring about the fall of the Light.





	1. Chapter 1.

Present day

The sound of a quill against parchment echoed around the unusually quiet dormitory as a small figure cloaked in darkness sat undisturbed in the corner window writing furiously into a black leather bound book, to a stranger the figure sitting would be no stranger but a saviour, Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived. There wasn't a witch or wizard alive who did not know of the boy with the famous scar, the one who was prophesized to vanquish the Dark Lord Voldemort and the one to finally bring peace to the wizarding world.

With a humourless chuckle the writing stopped, and the quill was discarded without a second thought. With one hand the book was picked up and slowly blown on to dry the crimson ink while the other hand illuminated the words with his wand. Avada Kedarva coloured eyes regarded what was written while a sinister smirk slowly crept upon his face. Without warning the young saviour gave one final glance around the room and passed the book to his owl sitting on the perch beside him, with a few choice words the owl flew from the window as the figure silently descended the stairs without a second look back.

The next morning the only trace of the saviour were the words that were etched deep into the little black leather-bound book that now resided on the desk of one worried and angry Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

_ Today the wizarding world will fall, tomorrow the dark shall reign. _

Six years previously

A shrill scream from Harry's aunt woke the small boy from his light slumber, he wasn't quite sure how long he had been locked in the cupboard, long enough he gathered for the hunger to pass and the broken bones in his body to finally begin the long process of healing but even that wasn't a good indication as the days seemed to blend into one and his body healed him faster than he believed possible.

Without warning the rickety door to the cupboard was unlocked and slammed open and bright sunlight invaded the cramped space along with a meaty hand which engulfed his hand pulling him forcefully out of the safety of the small, dark and dank room. A slight whimper of pain escaped Harry's lips as the delicate healing bones in his wrist were once again fractured and the torn muscles in his shoulders screamed in protest and the rough treatment his Uncle used on him.

Once out of the cupboard Uncle Vernon pushed his large frame through the open kitchen door and proceeded to throw the small scared boy onto the cold kitchen tiles.

"You freak! How dare you bring your-your freakiness into this household; you are just like your mother and your good for nothing father!" Aunt Petunia screeched at the small trembling boy whilst holding an open crumpled letter in her hand.

Uncle Vernon spat furiously "We feed you and clothe you and this is how you repay us? Becoming a freak like your good for nothing parents? I'll show you boy." His face began turning a dark shade of red with anger as he started walking towards the confused Harry lying on the floor.

Harry whimpered, clearly confused by this sudden torrent of anger from his Aunt and Uncle. "S-sir, please. I don't know what I have done." Harry backed away until his back pressed against the kitchen cupboards, emerald eyes flickering around the room like a caged animal desperately searching for something that could help him. "Please Sir, tell me what I have done wrong, I'll fix it Sir, I promise, I'll fix it."

"Tell you what you have done wrong? Oh! I'll tell you what you have done wrong." With that Uncle Vernon aimed a kick which landed on the side of the small boys’ chest, a pained moan ripped itself from Harry's lips as fragile ribs cracked under the pressure.

"You lived you freak, that's what you have done wrong" another kick came his way, quickly followed by another; Harry forced himself into a feral position, a futile attempt to stop the pain which was being inflicted upon him.

"Your parents went and got themselves killed, leaving you; you should have died with them!" The kicks get harder as sobs which tore themselves from the abused boy got louder. One large hand reached and picked up the abused Harry by the hair and slammed him against the wall, blood trailing from a broken nose down a tear stained face. "Where are the freaks to help you now boy?"

The abuse continued as punches and kicks continued to rain down onto the confused child as his cries for help fell onto his Aunt Petunia's deaf ears, with a final punch the bruised, bloody and broken boy was thrown back once again into the dark secluded cupboard.

Harry sat quiet in the dark afraid of the wrath of the angry man if he made to much noise, his silent tears slowly running down his face in time with the blood seeping from his nose. Moving to sit up Harry bit back a cry of pain as he jolted his broken ribs, Uncle Vernon had gone one step further with his beating this time, and it would be harder to hide at school, if he was allowed out to go to school.

"Maybe I really am a freak" Harry whispered to himself, "maybe I really deserve this, what if they are right" Without warning Harry began to panic, he was alone-more alone than ever before, they had been right all these years, the beatings were for a reason, he really was a frea-

"**_Calm my little snake, you are not alone. You are never alone. Just shut your eyes, I am here as promised."_**

Harry instantly began to relax as the familiar silky baritone voice washed over him in calming waves, no, he wasn't alone, and he would never be alone. Closing his eyes Harry began to relax until he found himself in his place, his _special _place.

"_Marlo..."_ Harry whispered softly, scared of raising his voice in case his dark haired and crimson eyed saviour and safety line disappeared, he was here, he had always been here.

"**_Come here Harry, I have you"_**

Without warning Harry ran towards the figure in his mind and threw himself into the waiting arms relishing in the moment of safety, security and sheer rightness of being held. Harry knew that this mindscape would not feel ebb the pain of reality, but in this world he could forget.

"_You’re here, you're really here" _Harry murmured into black clothed chest of one Tom Marvolo Riddle.

"**_Of course I am here child, I said I would always be here for you, didn't I?" _**Tom or Marlo as Harry had taken to calling the figure in his mind as a young child claiming that everyone needed a nickname wrapped his arms around the small boy and pulled him close **_"What did they do to you Harry?"_**

Harry shuddered and clung to Tom's robes _"They got the letter Marlo, it's true, I am a wizard! But...but Uncle Vernon was worse than before"_ Harry's voice trailed off from an eleven-year olds excitement of finding out his was as wizard the same as Tom into a scared whisper as fear clouded his every word.

Tom stroked Harry's hair in an attempt to calm the sobbing boy in any possible way he could while he whispered words into the young boy's ear "**_Hush now Harry...I will help you...I will always help you...now calm, there we go...let it all out, I am here."_**

"_You're not going to leave me? Are you? Please don't leave me!" _Harry cried as hysteria threatened to bubble over once more.

"**_I will never leave you my little snake."_**

Harry closed his eyes with a soft sigh; he wasn't going to be alone; he knew that Tom would never leave him even though people in the coming years would try and make him see that Tom was a bad person. Without warning a momentarily flicker of anger passed across Harry's face and his fists closed into tight balls as he thought of the man responsible for his suffering.

Tom looked down and frowned "**_What bothers you young one?"_**

"_Dumbledore, Marlo" _Harry mumbled into Tom's chest.

Lifting Harry's head up with one hand he regarded the tear stained emeralds with his own dark crimson ones **_"He will not hurt you young one, not while I am still breathing." _**Tom brushed the stray tears away from Harry's eyes as he thought back to what the young wizard had done for him.

Tom had first contacted Harry when the small three-year olds cries for help awoke the horcrux residing within Harry's mind, from that moment Tom had become irreversibly attached to the young boy in more ways than the link they shared.

Since that very moment they had met, Tom had begun to talk to Harry while sharing his pain and suffering, quickly becoming the only lifeline available for the small scared boy. Over the years as Harry grew Tom had explained the events with lead to the death of his parents helping solidify their bond to each other more.

** Flashback **

"_Big snake, no too strange, Tommy...no, Marley...Maaaaarley...no, Mar"_

"**_Little snake, what are you doing?" _**Tom interrupted the six-year-old Harry with a bemused expression.

Harry, who was currently sitting on the floor with his back propped up against Tom's leg, looked up with a confused expression _"why making you a nickname, of course! Now be quiet please."_

Tom raised an eyebrow at the demand Harry made but remained quiet none the less.

"_Marls? No, hmmmm" _With his tongue sticking out Harry regarded to teenage Tom carefully before suddenly exclaiming _"Marlo! Perfect!"_

Suddenly laughed Tom regarded the young boy **_"Marlo! Since when have I looked like a Marlo!"_**

Harry crossed his arms in agitation _"since now! Anyway, since when did Daddy look like Prongs?" _The young Harry instantly fell silent; he didn't know where that information had come from.

"**_Oh Harry...my little snake" _**Gathering the silent boy into his arms he attempted to comfort him. Even though it had been five years since the death of Harrys parents’ the young boy still had hidden memories which would reveal themselves at impromptu moments.

Looking Harry in the eye Tom made a quick decision **_"Harry, I need to you listen to this story very carefully and not to interrupt while I'm telling it, do you understand?"_**

Harry nodded once before placing his thumb in his mouth, Tom fought the urge to scold him for resorting to such behaviour but resisted doing so seeing as the information he was about to share would possibly upset the child greatly.

"**_Do you remember our story about the Professor Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort, Harry?"_**

Harry nodded, vividly remembering the tale of dark lord and the leader of the light.

"**_Do you also remember that I told you not to believe that good always means good and bad always means bad?"_**

Once again Harry nodded up at Tom.

"**_Well Harry, I am Lord Voldemort"_**

Harry bolted upright, panic evident in his eyes. Without warning Tom grabbed his arm and pulled him back down **_"Remember what I said Harry! Bad does not always mean bad or evil!"_**

Sitting down Harry eyed Tom warily, not yet knowing what to believe, not yet wanting to believe that his kind Tom could have been so evil to other humans like his Uncle Vernon.

"**_Yes, I am Lord Voldemort but do not believe that I will hurt you dear child."_**

Tom shut his eyes briefly, quickly thinking of the best way to start his story.

"**_When you go to Hogwarts Harry many people are going to call you The-Boy-Who-Lived" _**Seeing the unsaid question in the young boys’ eyes Tom continued.

"**_Before you were born, there was a prophecy made about me and you by Professor Trelawney while in the presence of Professor Dumbledore. Severus being my loyal spy overheard this prophecy and instantly came to find me to tell me. After viewing the memory from Severus, I managed to deduce that it was a fake prophecy, however in my anger and shock I, admittedly, nearly did not see it was a fake"_**

Tom sighed, here it was to get complicated and he hoped that Harry would see that he was innocent in this even though the wizarding world believed him to be the culprit.

"**_Severus had told me that your parents, Lily and James Potter, had gone into hiding with you to try and escape me. at the same time Peter Pettigrew, one of your father's best friends had joined my ranks and told me where you and your family were hiding. It wasn't until after that I found out he was a spy for Dumbledore."_**

Harry frowned, he vaguely remembered Peter babysitting him one evening and his father's joy at the fact Peter had managed to get Harry to sleep so easily.

"**_That same night I went to your parent's house and your father understandably tried to curse me on sight"_**

Tom laughed lightly at the memory of James Potter standing in the doorway of their home brandishing his wand like an old muggle sword.

"**_It wasn't until I handed my wand over and showed them the memory of the fake prophecy that they then finally believed me. I offered them a place in one of my houses to keep you safe Harry and they quickly accepted. Minutes later they were beginning to pack together a few belongings so they could leave that same night."_**

"**_I had gone upstairs with your mother Lily to help her while James fire called Sirius to tell him what had happened, it was at that time Dumbledore appeared with Peter having found out my plans." _**Tom hesitated for a second "**_He killed your Father Harry, I am sorry"_**

Unconsciously he slowly began to stoke Harry's hair while the small boy processed the information.

"**_I heard Dumbledore come up the stairs and I reached for my wand, however I quickly realised that your Father still had hold of my wand downstairs. Dumbledore came in and your Mother pleaded for him to save you Harry, he quickly killed her too leaving just me and you."_**

"**_This is the point when he tried to kill me, however he was unsuccessful. You see Harry, to cast the killing curse you must have a high affinity for the Dark arts, Dumbledore however does not for he is the leader of the Light meaning that he could not kill me, only render me temporarily injured and unconscious. With Dumbledore now believing that I was dead he turned to you Harry and cast a curse that gave you that scar"_**

Brushing his fingers over Harry scar he mused out loud **_"When casting the curse part of my soul which had become injured by the unsuccessful killing curse fled to you Harry, leaving me and you connected"_**

"**_Once awakened I found myself in the mountains of Albania, wandless, bodyless and missing part of my soul. It was only when you awakened the horcrux in your mind that we were able to finally connect to each other."_**

Looking down at the young boy Tom waited as the minutes passed for Harry to finally say something.

"_You didn't kill Mummy and Daddy then?"_

"**_No Harry, I promise that I did not kill your parents, but people are going to say that I did."_**

Harry tossed this information round in his head for a few minutes before curling up closer to Tom. _"Then I believe you.”_

Tom sat shocked for a moment, surprised at the ease of the proclamation before a small smile spread across his lips.

** End Flashback **

Looking up at Tom, Harry smiled _"I know you will keep me safe from Dumbledore, Tom. You promised."_

With a ruthful grin Tom rolled his eyes **_"go to sleep you little monster, let magic heal you."_**

With a tired laugh Harry grinned softly before mumbling quietly _"not a little monster Marlo, but a little snake"_

An agitated huff from the older male was the last thing that reached Harry's tired ears.


	2. Chapter 2

Opening his eyes slowly Tom's smile at Harry's childlike antics instantly began to turn into a frown. The information the young boy had shared with him about the fat muggle's beatings being worse than previous and this worried him greatly. Tom knew from experience that once somebody was given a reason to hurt another that the violence would only escalate until it hit a terrifying climax.

Standing up Tom began to pace around his office while running his hand through his mid-length black hair, he could not allow Harry to continue to live in the magical hating environment any longer, he had tried to rescue the abused boy time and time again after contact had first been made only to be repelled mere metres from the front door by powerful wards that even he couldn't bring down.

The pacing continued late into the night until a sudden idea bloomed, for years Tom had been one the try to cross the wards but what if they were keyed to just him? With a hurried move the black sleeve of the long robe was pulled back and wand pressed to the elaborate dark mark on his left arm. With a split second of concentration, the infamous Dark Lord called on his two most loyal followers.

Taking a seat behind the large mahogany desk Tom waited until he felt the wards to the castle signal the arrival of his most anticipated guests. Once sure that his guests were on the way through the castle to his office Tom moved to stand in front of the fire to the right of his desk as he called on one of his house elves to bring a selection of refreshments for later use.

With a quiet knock to the office door Tom gave a brief smile and a shake of the head at their respect. Contrary to popular belief he was not an insane mass murderer who killed and tortured people and followers at every possible opportunity and looked like a snake. He had feelings, emotions and had thankfully kept his looks, boasting a body of a male in his late twenties, aging one year every ten thanks to a ritual he stumbled across on his journey back from Albania.

While it was true that he killed and tortured, not that he could ever doubt that seeing as the lower floors of the castle were filled with screaming men and women, he never hurt another without proper reason. No, it was far to Gryffindor like to do something without thinking it through properly.

With a wave of his hand Tom opened the door to his two guests and observed them walk the necessary seven steps towards him before falling to the floor to his feet and bowing until their heads touched the dark wood. Tom sighed; he considered his two kneeling guests like friends, yet they still acted like the lower ranking death eaters.

The simultaneous whispers of "My Lord" echoed around the elegant room breaking the silence as the two guests remained stationary on the floor.

Extending his hand Tom offered it to the female of his guests. "Rise Bellatrix…Barty you too, I refuse to have friends of mine kneel on the floor like common death eaters. Please, sit. Would you like a drink?"

Taking the extended hand Bellatrix rose. "My Lord is too kind" with fluid grace the wild women sat and regarded Tom with dark blue eyes, insanity clear deep within their depths.

Barty Crouch Jr. remained kneeling until his female companion rose before standing himself, he was a rugged looking young man who, like Bellatrix, had clear insanity lurking behind his hazel eyes from spending long periods of time in Azkaban for the torture of many until his Lord had rescued the both of them during a small scale breakout a few years back.

Taking a large seat to the left of the fireplace Barty picked up a glass of brandy and began to warm it in the palm of his hand. Regarding the crimson eyed Dark Lord Barty began the conversation that unknowingly to him would change the course of the wizarding world forever. "My Lord called us"

"Yes, yes I did". With a moment’s hesitation Tom sat to the right of the fire, opposite Bellatrix before beginning his explanation of the late-night call to his two most loyal followers.

"For the past few years, as you both well know, I have been corresponding with one Harry James Potter through a soul connection which accidently came about the night _Albus" _Tom spat the name of the famous light wizard "tried to kill me." Standing Tom continued his story.

"It has become apparent over the years that the young Harry has been brutally abused by his muggle magic hating family, he has recently received his Hogwarts letter and I am…afraid of the abuse that is ultimately going to occur in the following days, weeks, months and even years if he is not removed from the household."

A sharp intake of breath was heard from Bellatrix at the news, she had known that her Lord had been talking to the young child, but she had never known why he had continued to help him. Her mothering instincts instantly began to kick in as she stood, gathering the layers of her skirts in her balled fists. "My Lord-!

"Quiet Bella."

The dark witch fell instantly silent at her Lord's dismissal but remained standing in anger. How dare a muggle abuse a wizarding child! Bellatrix's hand itched to reach for her wand a curse the filthy muggle out of existence.

Tom continued with his story as his pacing resumed for the second time that night. "My dear friends, this is where I need you. Time and time again I have tried to rescue Harry from his abusive home only to be stopped by wards. I believe these to be keyed to repel my magical signature and I need you to go and try to rescue him. If and only if I am correct in my assumption the wards will not recognise the disappearance of Harry and he will be safe to leave and never return."

Barty, who had been silent throughout the entire conversation nodded as he stood, to anybody who did not know him he would look like a calm civilised man who was going about any ordinary task. To a person who did know one Barty Crouch Jr. they would see the anger and insanity threatening to take over the rugged man at the words of his Lord about the abused child.

Without warning Bellatrix grinned, her dark blue eyes merry as a sudden insane laugh spilled from her painted red lips "and the filthy muggles my Lord?"

Tom regarded the laughing woman before him “Torture them and obliviate them of any memory regarding Harry, it will cause us many problems if they remember Harry or what happened to them. If, in the future the Light begin to question Harry as to why he no longer lives with the muggles then we shall create the story of him being abandoned as a child in an orphanage, and you my friends, will be the carers that mindfully took him in"

At this news Barty finally gave a toothy grin, the chance to be somewhat of a father was tempting, but to do this a child up who was meant to be Dumbledore's Golden Boy was temptation personified.

"I expect this to be done efficiently. Tomorrow I expect you here early for our rescue mission." Tom drawled as he took a sip of his own brandy.

With a nod Bellatrix walked over to Barty a placed a hand on his arm. "Our Lord is too kind; we shall bring the boy back to you safely"

Turning Barty gave the Dark Lord a soft tilt of his head to express his gratitude before offering Bellatrix his arm properly.

Accepting, Bellatrix turned and began to walk out of the coffee coloured office before being stopped by her Lord's deep baritone voice.

"Oh! Bellatrix, I'm sure Harry will be needed his Hogwarts equipment, and clothes"

Barty's dark glare and Bellatrix's excited grin were the last thing he saw before the heavy wooden door slammed shut.

Falling into his office chair a soft smile slowly fell onto his lips as he projected his thoughts to the sleeping child. **_"Soon my little snake, sleep and tomorrow you will be saved"_**

** The following morning at 4 Privet Drive **

Harry awoke with a yawn which quickly turned into a muffled moan of pain as every breath caused the muscles between his ribs to contract and expand causing his broken ribs to be jolted painfully.

Pushing himself up with his free hand Harry leant painfully against the side of the cupboard, shallow breaths escaping his cut and bruised lips. Stifling another moan Harry looked up towards the underside of the stairs as quick steps descended them, a moments silence followed before Aunt Petunia threw the door to the cupboard open.

"Get in the kitchen now boy and get breakfast ready! You better not burn the bacon this time!" She shrieked in a nasal voice.

Harry winced in pain at his current wounds and in remembrance of the last time he burnt the bacon. His hand had been blistered for days and the scarring remained as a reminder of his previous mistakes and failures.

Pulling himself out of the cupboard, Harry began the short but painful journey into the kitchen. Reaching his destination Harry began pulling the necessary pans out of the draw before setting about putting them onto the stove to heat up before adding the strips of bacon to the large non-stick pan. Flicking the coffee machine on Harry began to start cracking eggs into a small saucepan to make scrambled eggs.

Just as Harry began placing the bread into the large sized toaster the kitchen door flung open and the mini whale named Dudley stormed in, seeing Harry he automatically pushed the smaller boy into the fridge door causing Harry to fall to the floor. With a small laugh of enjoyment Dudley proceeded to settle his large behind on the small kitchen chair which began to protest at the weight.

Before Harry had the chance to pick himself up of the floor the larger whale of the family, Uncle Vernon, squeezed his larger frame through the kitchen door with a booming greeting to his darling wife and salivating son.

Seeing Harry on the floor Uncle Vernon began to turn red "BOY! What do you think you're doing? Lying around on the floor like a good for nothing swine like your parents that's what!" A quick kick was thrown his way which landed against Harry's injured ribs. "Now get up before I do worse freak!"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon" Harry mumbled weakly, nausea threatening to overtake him from the pain as he pulled himself up to quickly turn the bacon over before it burnt. It would only mean more trouble for Harry if the breakfast wasn't perfect. Placing the rest of the toast into the toaster Harry gave the eggs a quick stir to stop the burning at the bottom of the pan.

Hearing the toast pop Harry began pilling the breakfast onto separate plates before placing each one carefully onto the table, with an observant eye he checked to make sure everything was in place, once done Uncle Vernon began muttering at how long it had taken to cook and Harry had to bite back the comment that threatened to spill from his lips.

Without looking up from his monstrous pile of food Uncle Vernon threw a single piece of toast to the boy. "Now get into your cupboard and stay there!" He barked, sending small pieces of food around the table from his open wide mouth.

Harry stood in shock for a split second before hastily replying "Yes, Uncle Vernon, thank you Uncle Vernon". Scrambling out of the kitchen door Harry quickly found himself back in his cupboard scramming the meagre piece of toast into his mouth. It was a rare occasion when Harry was given food and he wasn't going to leave it sitting around for the spiders to nest on.

Laugher erupted from the kitchen and Harry shut his eyes, he had always wanted a family, someone to love and care for him, want to be with him and know him. Harry knew it was pointless for even though he has Tom he couldn't be rescued because of Dumbledore's messing. Harry sighed, just once he wanted something good to happen in his life.

Closing his eyes Harry began to doze, unbeknownst to him that his wish was near coming true.

** The entrance to Privet Drive **

Bellatrix sneered in disgust as she looked down at herself, having polyjuiced herself to look like a middle-aged muggle woman with blonde hair and bright blue eyes Bellatrix was not in a good mood. Barty on the other hand was enjoying himself, he had polyjuiced himself to look like a handsome businessman with cropped brown hair and equally brown eyes leading him to feel quite relaxed dressed in muggle clothes.

"Stop checking yourself out Barty! We are here to rescue the boy, torture some muggles and not to look good for a muggle version of Witch Weekly!" Bellatrix snapped and she righted the jacket she was wearing.

"But I still look good Mary dear" Barty dodged a dark curse sent his way with a cheeky grin and laughed at the retreating figure of Bellatrix storming off down the road muttering curses as she went.

Stepping up the path Bellatrix noted the wards letting her and Barty through with no resistance. Their Lord had been right, Dumbledore had failed the believe that he would send anybody other than himself after the boy. Feeling Barty put his arm around her waist she sent yet another dark glare his way, her now bright blue eyes not hiding the anger and insanity that lurked behind her mask.

Reaching out a hand Barty knocked confidently at the door three times and waited for the show to begin.

Vernon Dursley looked up from his food with a confused look before turning to his horse like wife "Tuney-kins, do you have anybody coming around this morning?"

Petunia looked out of the kitchen window at the two well-dressed guests at their front door "No dear, let me go and see what they want." Walking out of the kitchen she opened the front door with a pleasant smile. "Good Morning, I'm sorry, we're not interested in giving to charity or joining any groups" Petunia moved to shut the door.

"Good Morning to you too" Bellatrix put on a high pitched voice and a sickly sweet smile "we are not here to sell anything, we are actually here as we have heard you have got a troublesome young boy in your care and we wish to take him off your hands".

Petunia stopped suddenly and Barty seeing that Petunia was no longer going to shut the door with such hastiness moved forward and invited himself into the house bringing Petunia out of her reverie.

"Yes…yes do come in" Petunia held the door open wider and allowed Bellatrix into the house, shutting the door she moved her guests through to the front room.

"Tuney, who is it?" was the muffled voice from the kitchen. Petunia excused herself for a moment before walking into the kitchen with a hurried walk as Barty cast a quick spell to allow him to hear what was being said in the other room.

"They say that want to take the freak boy away!" was Petunia's excited hushed whisper to her husband.

Vernon stood suddenly, his large stomach nearly knocking the table over in his hurry to visit the guests. Walking into the front room Vernon schooled his face into a pleasant smile and extended his hand to his guests. "Vernon Dursley and this here is my wife Petunia. I hear you wish to take the boy away. You must be brave people, that boy is nothing but trouble!"

Barty and Bellatrix both exchanged quick glances of anger before Barty calmly replied while accepting the offered hand "Jonathan, Jonathan Whitley, and this is my wife Mary. It's a pleasure to meet you Sir. We were wondering if we could meet this young boy now."

Vernon began to panic, they couldn't see the boy until he had healed and had been cleaned of the blood otherwise, they would never take him away. "W-well, I'm sorry but…but he has gone out! Yes, he's gone out!" Vernon gave a wide smile to his guests.

"Gone out Mr Dursley? At half past seven in the morning? It's a shame I don't believe you" Barty began to draw his wand as he felt the effects of the polyjuice begin to wear off. Within moments the figures of Barty Crouch Jr. and Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black were standing in the middle of the Dursley's front room.

Transfiguring the muggle clothes back into her usual attire Bellatrix began to laugh "now little piggy. Where. Is. Harry?"

"Freaks! Get out, GET OUT!" Vernon screamed in terror and anger.

"Imperio" Bellatrix cackled loudly as the screaming form of Vernon Dursley fell instantly quiet. Keeping her wand trained on the purple face of Vernon Dursley she spoke in a dark whisper. "Get me Harry Potter" Vernon slowly began to move out of the room as Barty trained his own wand on Petunia, a small spell being whispered.

Petunia fell to the floor with a shocked look as invisible ropes began to wrap around her, with a final glare Barty glided out of the room after Bellatrix.

Vernon stopped outside the small cupboard and pointed, his eyes wide and glassy, Bellatrix began to lose her temper "I said get me Harry Potter!" again Vernon pointed to the small cupboard under the stairs, it was at this moment Barty crouched down and opened the rickety door, a shocked gasp fell from the insane man's lips as he reached in and carefully picked up the sleeping boy. The movement caused Harry to awake and he soon began to panic.

"Please, put me down, I'll be good! I promise…I promise!"

Barty moved the small boy into the front room and transfigured one of the armchairs into a soft loveseat before laying the quivering boy onto it. Bellatrix moved into the room and began to stroke his hair having temporarily knocked out Vernon and Dudley Dursley having found the other member hiding in the kitchen with a well-aimed spell

"Calm Harry, we won't hurt you. My name is Bella, and this is Barty, we won't hurt you. I promise" Bellatrix crooned "our Lord would never want you hurt"

At this Harry began to calm as curiosity took over. "Lord?"

Bellatrix looked confused "why of course child, Lord Voldemort"

At this Harry's eyes lit up "Marlo! He sent you to come and rescue me!" Harry went to jump up to hug the two strangers but stopped with a gasp of pain as his excitement caused his wounds to pull and open once more.

At hearing the young boy gasp in pain Barty got to work cleaning the young boy of the blood from his skin and casting healing spells to help Harry's injuries, until they were with a trained Healer to fix the young boy’s height and weight this is all Barty could do. Whilst the man took care of Harry Bellatrix summoned the unconscious whales of the family from where she had left them bound. As Vernon and Dudley come soaring into the room Bellatrix aimed her wand at the figures and revived them easily.

The silence didn't last long as moments later Vernon once again began shouting at the two magical adults. "You filthy disgusting freaks! You should all burn in hell!"

At this both Bellatrix and Barty snapped, their insanity now showing clearly, within seconds two clear voices rang in unison throughout the room.

"Crucio"

Both Bellatrix and Barty begin to laugh at the fat muggle began to scream and writhe on the floor, his hands moving to his body, trickles of blood turning into steady streams as he clawed at his body to try and get rid of the excruciating pain he felt.

"No, it's you who should burn in hell." Bellatrix stopped her Crucio spell while Barty moved his onto Petunia, with a wicked grin Bellatrix shot another dark spell at Vernon causing the skin of Vernon's body begin to peel away as Bellatrix begin to giggle madly at the screams which tore themselves from Vernon's throat.

Harry sat confused and shocked at the behaviour of the Bella and Barty, the two strangers who had come to save him and who had taken to torturing his family. Without warning a small giggle escaped the healed lips of the small boy.

At hearing this small giggle Bella turned and observed the boy, skipping over she held out her hand to the boy "come Harry, let's make these muggles scream together!"

With caution he took of Bella's hand and allowed himself to be brought into the middle of the room, training her wand on the youngest whale Dudley Bellatrix regarded Harry with a slight smile "Now Harry, just hold my hand which has my wand in it" Harry grabbed hold of the hand like a man denied of water in a desert might grab a cup, in doing so Harry felt a slight rush of magic touch him as he grinned up at the laughing woman who stopped for a few seconds to cast a powerful Crucio at the younger male, a soft giggle escaped her lips as she relished in the pig like squeals that young male made. Seeing Bellatrix laugh Harry began to join in. After a few moments to spell ended and Bellatrix smiled at the younger boy "Did you enjoy that Harry?" The young male nodded vigorously, his first sight, touch and taste of magic had been dark and intoxicating. 

Barty walked over to Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder having cancelled the spells he had been using on Petunia leaving her a broken, bloody mess on the floor. "Come Bella, we must reverse this damage and make a leave"

Bellatrix stood silent for a second before a large grin spread across her painted lips "I think we should leave them a little present before we go, don't you?"

Barty looked confused as he watched Bellatrix point her wand at the bleeding and shaking Dursley's on the floor, with the first spells she removed all the damage they had caused to their bodies, leaving them as they had found them, with the second spell Bellatrix began to giggle as she started moving her wand round in an anti-clockwise direction as Barty quickly explained to Harry that whenever they thought or acted cruelly their thoughts would be placed upon them and amplified causing them to experience the torment they had placed on him.

With one final sweep of the room Barty summoned Harry's meagre belongings before making headway for the front door, Bellatrix followed quickly before shutting the door to 4 Privet Drive forever.

Reaching the top of the street both Barty and Bellatrix turned and raised their wand, Harry watched in fascination as the two dark adults spoke a final spell to secure Harry's departure "Obliviate".

Turning to Harry, Bellatrix smiled and crouched to face the small boy "Are you ready to leave Harry?"

Harry nodded quickly, joy evident in his face "yes Bella, very much so! Where are we going?"

Bellatrix broke into a wider grin "To get your Hogwarts things of course!"

Barty groaned loudly, he would rather face Azkaban again or a group of Gryffindor Auror's than go Hogwarts shopping with Bella. He remembered his own school shopping days vividly.

Harry threw himself at Bella "Thank you, thank you!" The young Harry looked up at the rugged wizard and a traitorous smile broke out over Barty's face. Maybe this time shopping would be a bit more interesting with the young wizard around.


	3. Chapter 3

A soft smile spread across the insane Death Eaters face as Bella removed the small arms which had wrapped around her like a vice. "You're more than welcome Harry. Now, let's change these clothes, shall we?"

Pointing her wand at the young boy, Bella concentrated before beginning to lengthen, repair and conjure clothing appropriate for their upcoming visit to Diagon Ally while Barty kept watch to see that no muggles saw their work through a maintained Notice-Me-Not Charm.

Slowly, Harry's clothes began to change into a soft green shirt and stylish black jeans. Conjuring a floor length black robe with a silver border Barty helped Harry put his arms into it before giving a nod in approval.

Stepping back Bellatrix gave a wide grin. "Perfect! You look every inch a handsome pureblood Harry. My Lord will be most pleased at the change"

At this Harry gave a wide grin, the prospect of finally meeting Tom made him giddy with excitement, Harry couldn't remember the last time he had smiled so much but he knew he liked the change.

With a motherly gesture which most would not believe Bellatrix Lestrange to be capable of she began to flatten Harry's hair until an agitated huff escaped her lips. Whipping her wand out Bellatrix began to mutter a series of complex charms, Harry bit back a giggle at the woman's antics, it was strange to watch a witch who less than half an hour earlier had been torturing his family-no, the filthy muggles he had been forced to live with into insanity now become so obsessed over his image.

With a tingling at his scalp Harry felt his hair slowly begin to grow longer while his eyesight became blurrier by the second. With a confused look Harry reached up and touched his now shoulder length hair with one hand while using the other to throw the bent and broken glasses to the floor. A slight smile bloomed on his face as he felt Tom's approval at the changes reverberate through the bond.

A male voice, deeper than that the ones he had got accustomed to hearing over the years drew Harry from his thoughts.

"As much as I am impressed at the improvements you have just made, I do not want to be caught and accused of kidnapping Harry Potter" In a quieter voice Barty mumbled to himself "Azkaban is not a place I wish to return."

Giving one final critical glance at Harry's appearance Bellatrix placed her wand back into her robe pocket before pulling out a little silver flask. Draining the flask, she shuddered as her skin began to stretch, melt and change.

With horrified eyes Harry glanced over to Barty and noticed that he to, was undergoing the same process. Within minutes two strangers stood in the place of Barty Crouch Jr. and Bellatrix Lestrange.

Seeing Harry's distress Bella laughed "Calm Harry, it's me, Bella. Just disguised thankfully as a wealthy pureblood this time instead of an insufferable muggle like before" At this Harry relaxed, it hadn't been a trick to lure him away and kill him on the false pretence that they knew his Tom.

A strong male hand gripped Harry's shoulder in a comforting gesture "Once in Diagon Alley, you are to refer to me and Bella here and Uncle Velius and Aunt Adriella. If asked, we adopted you at the age of three into the Moros household having found you in an orphanage, do not worry about the details as we have it covered. Can you do that for me Harry?"

With a cheeky grin Harry looked up into the now dark brown eyes "Of course Uncle Velius”.

With an approving glance Barty muttered "We could make a Slytherin of this one". In a louder more serious tone, he addressed Harry. "Now hold on tight and whatever you do, do not let go otherwise my Lord will have me on the opposite end of the Cruciatus Curse until he breaks my mind completely".

Harry nodded, he was aware of the wizarding mode of transport, Apparition, Tom had made sure that he was well educated in the magical world from a young age even though Harry at the time venomously denied its existence. He was now however grateful for Tom's teachings and was itching to show Bella and Barty that he was well aware of how to act in public and just how much knowledge about this new world he held.

A sudden jolt threw Harry from his thoughts as he began to feel the sensation of being pulled through a narrow tube flow through his body.

Without warning Harry landed and nearly fell to his feet, it was only the strong grip Barty kept on his arm that he managed to remain upright. With a dark glare Harry mentally projected his thoughts to Tom in hope that he would receive them _"you never told me Apparition was that uncomfortable! _"

Brushing himself down Harry stood and regarded the bustling magical street before him, his awe quickly hidden behind his green eyes having remembering the fact that he had been supposedly adopted at the age of three meaning that this was obviously not going to be his first time in the magical street. Any outward sign of awe could possibly ruin their entire plans.

With a sharp nod towards Barty he went to stand besides Bella. "Thank you Uncle Velius, I almost lost my footing there. Now Aunt Adriella, where are we to visit first?"

Bella and Barty exchanged looks of surprise and bewilderment, whatever they had been expecting from the young boy at first glance was not what they received.

Remembering where they were, they quickly schooled their own surprise into a cool emotionless mask as Bellatrix daintily nodded her head down the street "I do believe that a trip to Ollivanders was in order, don't you agree Velius?"

Barty nodded while coming to stand on the other side of Harry while discretely observing his surroundings. Since arriving in the street Barty's fighting instincts had kicked in telling him that in case of attack he was to protect the young boy to the death "Of course Adriella, it is time you received your own wand Harry instead of borrowing your Aunts at times"

Barty's mask slipped slightly as the insane glint returned to his eyes. Bellatrix giggled having caught on to Barty's reference of her sharing her wand with Harry during the torture of his muggle relatives.

Harry looked at them before raising an eyebrow, in his mind Harry felt the deep chuckles of Tom echo at the scene he was witnessing through of eyes of the young wizard, a smirk slid onto his face.

Once order regained between the three of them Barty placed his arm between Bella's ignoring the deep growl that was emitted from the painted lips while allowing Harry to walk in front of them.

Walking into the busy street the crowd parted slightly for the trio, to a passer by the group would look every inch an old pureblood family that appeared to descend from Salazar Slytherin himself, with equally pitch black hair and ethereal beauty they emitted a scene of power and wealth.

Walking into Ollivanders both Barty and Bellatrix restrained the surge of anger and hatred they felt and settled on polite smiles at the family that stood before them.

"Mr Weasley, how lovely it is to see you again" Barty regarded the man before him with masked hatred; behind him Barty heard the murmuring of Bellatrix.

"Filthy blood traitors, spoiling precious magical blood with disguising muggle blood, they don't deserve to be called magical. I'd kill them if I wasn't Adriella" Her long nails dug into Harry's shoulder as she spoke. Seeing her and Barty's hidden distain and fake smiles Harry tilted his head to the side, trying to make sense of what was happening.

The red headed man turned around smiled at the sight of Barty "Lord Moros, it is a pleasure!"

Barty forced a smile onto his face at motioned for Harry and Bellatrix to come forward before introducing them both to the red headed group. "I do not believe you have ever had the chance to meet my wife Adriella or my adopted son yet, Mr Weasley"

Harry nodded his head politely with them, as he was yet a wizarding adult, he was not obliged to shake hands with the elder wizard. It was quickly explained to the young boy by Tom that Barty, or Lord Velius Moros as he was portraying, was the surviving member of an ancient pureblood bloodline and well known within the ministry for his power within the wizarding world, he was also known for his deference from the Dark to the Light and was a prominent member of the Light side of the war.

Tom then went on to explain that Lord Velius Moros didn't exist anymore as Tom had killed him many years earlier and was now using the deceased man and his wife as a cover story for both Bella and Barty to infiltrate the Ministry and Dumbledore's side of the war.

Harry resisted the urge to snort, trust Tom to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic with such an elaborate cover. Turning his attention back to the scene before him he regarded the mass of red hair and misbehaving children, he couldn't understand how parents could let their children misbehave. He also couldn't understand why they had to have so many seeing as they obviously lacked the money to look after them.

The older red haired man looked at Harry with confusion "I did not know you had adopted Lord Moros. Kept it secret for all these years! May I enquire his name?"

Barty's lip curled twitched as he restrained a snarl, he wanted nothing more to curse the man into oblivion but instead kept to social etiquette rules and answered the insufferable man's question "Of course Mr Weasley." Coming to stand next to Harry he smiled down at him "Harry James Potter"

At this Mr Weasley looked at Barty in shock "H-Harry Potter? THE Harry Potter, James and Lily's son?"

It was at this Bellatrix spoke, softly running her hands through Harry's hair "Isn't he just adorable? Molly, you must agree with me. The poor soul was left at an orphanage, we couldn't leave him. You must understand"

Mrs Weasley found herself nodding her head, the pour soul had been left all alone and Dumbledore had promised he was safe. She would be having words with the headmaster before the night was over.

"We were afraid of announcing we had him, you can never be too careful with spies these days."

Murmured agreements met their ears as a satisfied look crossed the two dark haired adult's faces as the red headed gang bid their farewells. That was too easy; by night fall the whole of the Light side would know Harry was theirs.

Harry once again tuned out and felt a pulling sensation, he frowned, it was similar to the sensation he felt when his hand had touched Bella's wand earlier, and before he could leave the adults side to find what it was a man with silver appeared before him.

"I thought I would be seeing you soon. Harry Potter"

Harry looked shocked; with his now long hair his scar could no longer be seen so he was surprised to find the man knew his name.

The man continued "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work. Your father on the other on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more powerful and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it – it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

Harry frowned as he watched the man step closer towards him with his finger outstretched, before the man could touch him Harry stepped back into the safety of Barty and Bella.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did that. Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands...Well if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."

Harry stiffened his face now a cold emotionless mask. How dare this man talk about his Tom like that, he was perfect, kind, smart, powerful and yes, admittedly, the most famous Dark Lord since Grindelwald himself but to say his wand fell into the wrong hands. It was an utter disgrace to Tom's name.

The man, Ollivander, began to pass Harry a series of wands, each making his body tighten with a feeling only to be described as sheer wrongness as his magical core fought with the power of the wand.

"I wonder, now – yes, why not – unusual combination – holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple"

Harry took the wand and a feeling of warmth spread through his body until Tom screamed Dumbledore's name in anger in his mind, without warning Harry threw the wand to the ground, his head in agony, he couldn't make sense of the feeling, part of him wanted to pick up the wand and bind it to his core, he felt...compelled to do so, the more rational part of him, which he believed to be Tom, was screaming the same words over and over again. Harry stuttered out those words.

"M-m-magical compulsion b-binding"

Barty quickly pulled his own wand out and started running detection spells over Harry, he was relieved to find that his core was still stable, and he silently thanked every deity he could name for that fact. Turning around he found Bellatrix had had Obliviated Ollivander and was now waiting for him to come around.

Kicking the holly and phoenix wand under the large shelves they stood and waited for Ollivander to regain awareness.

"I am so sorry Mr Potter, I must have dozed off, now...where was I?" He stood to think "ah yes, tricky customer, no worries, I wonder, now-"

Before he could continue Harry interrupted "excuse me, Mr Ollivander,I have this...pulling, it keeps getting stronger"

At this statement all three adults stared at Harry; it was rare a child at such a young age to feel the connection to their wand.

"It is your wand calling you Mr Potter, please, go on, we shall follow"

Harry set off down the aisles, at times the pulling would lessen and at times it would increase, he gave a slight chuckle at the thought of it being like the muggle game of hot and cold. Reaching the far-left hand corner of the shop a warm sensation flew through his body as he grabbed a ladder and started to climb, ghosting his hands of numerous boxes before he stopped. His hand hovered over a dusty box, its edges folded down and the gold lettering faded to become unreadable.

Picking the box up Harry gave a wide grin, yes. This was his wand; coming down the ladder Harry removed the wand from the box and picked it up, a sheer sense of rightness flooded through Harry and a white glow softly surrounded his hands.

Ollivander hummed in delight. "May I, Mr Potter?"

Placing his wand into the awaiting hands of Ollivander, Harry felt Tom's approval at the wand. No, his wand, it was always to be his wand.

"Very nice Mr Potter, Elder, eleven inches, but its core is what makes this wand special" Ollivander regarded Harry over the rim of his glasses. "Your wand contains the feather from the last known Harpy to roam the earth, bringers of death and destruction. You Mr Potter, have a very powerful wand"

Bellatrix clapped in delight at the wand maker's words, she felt a moment of pride at Harry gaining such a powerful wand and she was sure her Lord would also be pleased.

Passing the wand back to Harry, Ollivander looked over at Barty to observe the disguised man pull out a bag of coins and pay him with a polite nod of the head.

Walking to the door Ollivander opened it and bid his customers a good day, shutting the door he leaned against it and sighed "Dumbledore...you have lost him now. Good luck with your journey Harry Potter..."

The rest of the trip was a success as Harry found himself falling in love with the magical world with every shop he visited, he had finally found himself within the space of a day loved and safe and Harry relished in that very fact. He had long ago realised that for many years to come he would have to play Dumbledore's tune to appear to saviour everybody expected him to be but he knew, in the end, the world would pay and he would sit next to Tom and rule the Wizarding and Muggle world until the end of eternity.

"**_Those are some extreme plans my little snake"_**

Harry laughed, causing Barty and Bella to look at him strangely before he tapped his head with a single finger, at this they both relaxed and continued to now look at him in awe.

"_You know they are true Tom, one day we will rule supreme and no one will dare question our power"_

A resounding chuckle echoed around his mind **_"Yes, we will rule supreme. I am very proud of you for getting such a powerful wand Harry, you will master great things with it, treat it with care, and it shall treat you with care."_**

Harry felt a surge of warmth flow through him. Tom was proud of him. Proud. The word sounded strange in his mind, but Harry decided he wanted to make Tom proud of him more often as he liked the feeling it gave him.

Before Harry could answer Barty drew him from his thoughts by touching his arm, with a smile Harry got up from the shop seat, they had waited while Harry's school robes and necessary clothing were being finished. Looking down at the list Harry noted that they had everything besides an owl, before Harry could speak Tom spoke in his mind once more.

"**_Do not bother, I already have something for you here Harry. Call it a welcome home present."_**

Harry's heart soared; he was getting a gift, from his Tom, from his Marlo. Barty and Bella appeared to know this as they began walking to the departure point of Diagon Alley, a section of the street which acted as an Apparition, Portkey and Floo Network for witches and wizards from every country around the world.

Barty looked at him "remember what I said before Harry, do not under any circumstance let go. Portkey may be different to Apparition but if you let go then there will be no way of tracing where you will land...if you land at all."

Harry gulped and gripped Barty arm with one hand tightly and placed his other hand on the Portkey, when Barty was sure that they all that a firm grip on the Portkey he said quietly one single word.

"Home"

The sensation Harry felt was worse than Apparition, they began to spin through a black abyss, now and then colours of other flying objects would pass through his vision. The spinning got faster and faster and the vortex began to close around him, squeezing him, making it harder and harder to breathe...

...They landed. Harry fell into a heap on the floor as his head continued to spin. Harry decided right then that taking a Portkey was a lot worse than Apparition.

Looking up Harry gasped in surprise and awe; a large manor house met his eyes, with roman pillars and large panes of glass greeted him, Harry smiled. Yes, he finally was home.

Without thinking Harry began to walk towards the gates with purposeful strides. Lifting one hand he began to move it towards the gate as Bellatrix and Barty both screamed in horror at his actions, a spell missed him by inches as he turned around to face them as his hand finally connected with the gate.

Warmth surrounded Harry for a few mere seconds, Harry laughed at the feeling of Tom's familiar magic wash over him combined with an older unfamiliar magic, he liked the feeling of it bend around him - almost learning who he was, tasting his magic – the very essence of him. The magic seemed to hum with power before it retreated, the lingering residues touched his body before following the larger mass of wards back into the ancient structure as the gates harmlessly opened for the young boy.

Turning back to face the now speechless adults Harry laughed at them, efficiently snapping them out of their trance.

"Are you coming Auntie Bella?" Harry grinned at the witch; an equally large grin was thrown at Barty. "How about you, Uncle Barty, are you coming in?"

Barty was the first to recover “We thought you were going to die you brat!"

Harry giggled "Did you both fear for your life at the thought of Tom's wrath?"

Bellatrix growled "No! But you should fear for yours after that little trick!"

Harry began to run up the pathway to the manor as he heard them both run after him. Within his mind Harry also heard Tom laugh at the scene he was witnessing before telling him where to run to.

Throwing the large manor doors open Harry began to run up the large grand staircase to the second floor before sprinting down the beautifully decorated hallway, if he had been walking slower he would have noticed the moving portraits look on in wonder, some laughing at a boy's youth while others tutted at such immature behaviour.

Reaching his destination Harry wrenched open the door and ran inside only to be stopped by the very person who sent him here. Whilst running Harry hadn't thought of where he was, or who he was going to meet, he had just instinctively followed the voice in his head.

A man sat behind perched on the edge of a large mahogany desk, an expression of clear amusement etched into his face as his eyes sparkled with mirth at seeing the boy he held so dear to him stand shocked in the doorway to his office.

Tom restrained the grin that threatened to fall onto his face as he heard Harry's thoughts, he quickly mused behind his well-maintained Occlumency shields that it was probably due to their close contact.

"T-Tom...my Marlo..." Harry breathed, his body trembled with the very thought of Tom being in the same room just mere feet away.

Kneeling, Tom did the very thing that he had been doing so for years in his mind, he opened his arms and smiled at the overwhelmed boy and spoke the words that would forever seal Harry to his side.

"Come here, my little snake. You are home."


	4. Chapter 4

Harry’s head hit the cool window as a flash of lightening illuminated the small boy, it had been a week since his arrival at the manor and in that time he had yet to see Tom or even hear anything from him and Harry was beginning to wonder if he had done something to change Tom's mind on having him living with him at the manor.

A small frown marred the pale boys face, Bella and Barty had also become distant the past few days, always coming and going from the manor in a variety of different disguises; Harry had also begun to wonder if the Bella and Barty he saw was actually what they really looked like or if it was yet another elaborate disguise.

A distant rumble of thunder drew Harry from his thoughts as he looked across the rain sodden grounds, he guessed it was past midnight, but he couldn't be sure as large clouds covered the sky and only patches of the full moon could be seen between flashes of lightening.

Turning, Harry let himself slip off the edge of the window seat onto the stone floor as he padding down the hallway into his room he stopped only to pick up his heavy black cloak, throwing it over his shoulders and placing his arms through the large sleeves Harry continued his journey to the grand staircase.

The dark wood gave no indication of Harry's movements as he quickly made his way to the lower floor and into the breakfast dining room, from here Harry knew that he could escape through the large glassed doors and into the gardens and the wood beyond.

With a determined look Harry silently opened the glass doors and stepped out into the drizzling rain. Throwing the large hood over his head Harry began to walk towards the woods, his confidence in his plan growing with every step. He would see just how long it took before Tom noticed him missing and if by tomorrow evening Tom hadn't sent people to find him Harry would leave and never return.

Sitting down Harry leant against the trunk of a large sessile oak; a frown once again appeared on his face as snippets of information appeared in his mind, a constant reminder of just how deep his connection with Tom ran.

Warm and dry thanks to the shelter of the large tree Harry's eyes began to close, as the thunder became a distant rumble to his ears and the night surrounded his tired body. Harry began to relax into deadly silent woodland setting.

Without warning Harry's eyes flew open as he tensed, something wasn't right. At this time of night, the woods should be alive with animal life. Bats, owls, shrews and foxes should all be out and roaming the woods regardless of his presence under the tree.

The comforting weight of his wand made for no reassurance, even with his head full of spells from his and Tom's shared connection Harry still lacked the power to use them, scanning the darkness around him Harry fought to keep his panic at bay, it would do him no good to lose control at this stage. He needed intellect if something was lurking in the unknown darkness, a mere few metres away from his hiding spot.

A low growl reverberated throughout the darkness from behind the petrified boy. Harry fought the urge to run, his heart and breathing rate increasing with every passing second, his thoughts of restraining his panic leaving his body while his body began readying itself for fight or flight.

Harry slowly and silently began to turn around, hoping that for once his mind was playing tricks on him, silently begging that Tom or Barty or even Bella were playing around because he left the safety of the manor.

Large amber eyes met Harry terrified emerald ones, a louder snarl echoed around the empty wood and twigs cracked loudly under the large paws of the giant wolf. As the wolf slowly entered the boundaries of the tree Harry stood terrified under, he caught sight of the wolf. Matted fur covered the thin skeletal body and a large infested wound ran down its side, a small part of Harry wished he could heal the wolf but a larger part of him was screaming to run even though in his fear Harry remained rooted to the ground, his throat closed preventing the scream of terror which fought to escape.

The wolf crouched and jumped, its foaming mouth open, its large body coming closer to him as the seconds ticked slowly by, the wolf's snarl intertwined with Harry own scream which had bubbled from his throat.

Time had seemed to slow down as the wolf soared through the air, Harry's open terrified eyes taking in the form of the injured, hungry wolf. With a sudden realisation of his impending death Harry sent out one final message to Tom as his eyes drifted close for the final time.

"_I'm sorry, Marlo"_

**Tom Riddle's Master Bedroom**

Sitting on the edge of his bed Tom sighed, his one hand reaching up to rub his temples to calm the rapidly growing migraine. The past few days had been hectic, the Light side had been demanding to know why Bella and Barty had Harry and the ministry were demanding background checks on all employers putting a majority of his own sides spy's in trouble as many did not have solid enough alibis on their past.

Lying on his back the infamous Dark Lord groaned as he caught sight of the paperwork on his desk through the open door. Sometimes he wished his job was just going about killing and torturing people whenever he liked, it would make things a lot easier.

Without sitting up Tom called on his favourite house elf to fetch him one of Severus headache potions, within seconds the elf was back with the potion in hand.

As Tom reached out to take it, he felt the wards around the manor signify the exit of a magical person, pushing his magic further he was surprised to find that the wards told him that part of him had left. Looking down Tom frowned seeing as he was intact before he registered what the wards were telling him. Harry had left the manor.

Brushing it off as the young boy getting some fresh air, he popped the cork off the vial and walked over to the large balcony observing the sky. Tom was aware that it was the full moon; he was not worried as the wards around the manor prevented any werewolf entering his private gardens. Harry was safe just as long as he didn't wander into the woods.

Lifting the vial to eye length his observed the potions colour and consistency, it wasn't rare to find a potion that had been poisoned and Tom didn't fancy dying any time soon. Happy with the potion being the correct one he lifted it towards his lips just as the wards alerted him of another change.

The vial Tom had been holding smashed to the floor as he ran out of the door, wand at the ready. Harry had entered the woods. Flying down the stairs he threw the large wooden doors open, it would only be later he would look back and realise that he could have Apparated to the woods and saved himself precious minutes.

Entering the woods, he flew between the trees, his eyes scanning the darkness for any lurking threat while his wand pointed him towards Harry. A terrified scream caught his attention as he urged himself to run faster, he would not let his Harry die.

Reaching the clearing a small voice brushed the surface of Tom's mind. Without warning or stopping he answered the voice in his mind with a mere whisper. "No, I'm sorry".

With one final push of energy Tom flung himself in front of the oncoming werewolf while shielding the young boy with his body, with a primal animal scream Tom raised his wand and pointed it at the oncoming creature.

**Present Time**

**"AVADA KEDAVRA!"**

Green light illuminated the clearing with more power than the lightening had previously done blinding Harry for a few seconds despite the fact his eyes were still closed, opening them slowly he was met with a sight that he doubted he would never forget.

Tom Marvolo Riddle stood; his wand arm stretched out in front of him with eyes bleeding from a crimson red into dilated black in the moons light while equally black hair stuck to his face, mused slightly from his run. With a terrifying snarl stretched across his lips he turned slowly to face Harry.

Harry had read and seen pictures of fallen angels in school when a lady came to teach them about Christianity, Harry had regarded the words nonsense but seeing Tom turn Harry believed every word he had read as Tom looked every inch a fallen angel, terrifyingly dark and utterly perfect.

Tom's chest heaved in exertion and adrenaline as he faced Harry, he didn't need to look at the creature to know it was dead, the silence which had again fallen across the wood told him that much. Taking one step towards Harry he placed his wand back into his pocket while using the other to take hold of Harry's shoulder. Within seconds they were back in the safety of Tom's private rooms.

Landing in the room Tom let go of Harry's shoulder before walking over to the side cabinet, without looking at Harry he addressed the silent boy "Sit down". Pouring himself a glass of whiskey Tom quickly downed it before pouring himself another large measure.

Turning around Tom regarded the young boy who was sitting on the edge of his bed, absentmindedly petting the head of Tom's familiar Nagini with shaking hands. Summoning a chair from the connecting office Tom lowered himself into it while constantly reminding himself to keep his anger at bay.

"Mr Potter, pray tell as I am at a loss, what were you doing out in the woods, in the middle of a storm, alone, at night?"

Harry's hand froze and Tom's words, he had never called him Mr Potter. It had always been Harry, or little snake, but Mr Potter...never.

"I'm waiting, Mr Potter"

Tom regarded the boy with a critical eye, he knew he was worrying the boy with his term of address, but Harry needed to know that he was angry with him; a soft voice broke him from his thoughts.

"I-I wanted some fresh air"

Hesitation, a clear lie, Tom had not known the boy for numerous years and not learnt what he did when he lied. "Some fresh air Mr Potter? And that is why you went into the woods?"

"Yes, I thought that I would get a better breeze in the woods" Harry refused to meet Tom's gaze.

"You thought you would get a better breeze in a place surrounded by trees. Do not lie to me Mr Potter; I do not take kindly to liars. Now tell me the truth!" Tom let a slight portion of his anger come through, if he wanted to Tom could break into the young boy's mind and get the answers himself but he knew if he did, the young boy would never trust him again.

"Do you really care about me?"

At this Tom sat stunned, did Harry just say what he thought he said? "Excuse me?"

Lifting his head Harry looked into Tom's crimson eyes and spoke clearly for the first time that evening. "I said do you really care about me". Gripping the sheets between his clenched fists Harry continued to speak. "A week, I have been here a week and I haven't heard a word off you! You aren't here at mealtimes; nobody is ever here! I thought you wanted me here, but you are never around, it's just me and Nagini!” Even his owl, Hedwig; which had been his welcome home gift from Tom had spent the past week away from the manor learning the surrounding area.   
“I left tonight to see if you really did care about me, I thought that if you didn't send anybody to find me by tomorrow then you didn't care and then I would leave and never come back and, an..."

Harry couldn't finish the sentence as tears were freely flowing down his face, part anger, part anguish and part exhaustion as the evening's events finally caught up with the young boy, in a broken whisper Harry finally managed to finish his sentence "I just want you here, with me"

At Harry's words Tom's anger extinguished as he got up to sit next to Harry on the bed, putting one arm around the boy he pulled him close "I do care, I care so much. I was so scared when I felt the wards tell me you have gone into the woods, my little snake I do care"

Closing his eyes Tom began to share the week's events with Harry, from the ministry and the troubles he faced there to the panic he felt knowing Harry was in the woods.

Seeing the images flash past Harry's mind he realised just how wrong he had been, Tom did care for him. "I'm sorry Marlo..."

Tom smiled "You’re forgiven, and I'm sorry for calling you Mr Potter. But Harry, never go into the woods unsupervised again, otherwise we will be having more than just words. Understood?"

Harry nodded vigorously, he had now witnessed first-hand what power Tom held and he wasn't about to make him angry. "I understand" With a sudden yawn Harry leant against Tom, for a ten-year-old whose birthday was still a few days away, staying awake until four in the morning was not something he was used to.

Lifting the drowsy boy Tom pulled back the covers to his own bed before putting him in it, he could have easily moved Harry to his own room but the thought of leaving the boy alone where he could do something disastrous again wasn't something Tom wanted.

Covering him with the sheets and quickly petting Nagini on the head he turned the lights out with a softly whispered Nox before moving to his private office to pen a few letters to his trusted followers. It was a risky move to get more people on his side knowing about Harry living with him, but Tom knew after tonight's escapade Harry needed more people around him. He grimaced, even if that meant having more children around the manor.

Stretching Tom checked the time with a quick Tempus; he had been writing for a while but was surprised to find it was five minutes to seven, with a satisfied look at the stack of letters sitting on his desk Tom sat waiting for a house elf to arrive with his morning coffee.

Minutes later a tell-tale pop drew a satisfied hum from the man's lips at the thought of a strong black coffee, he was disappointed however to find it didn't appear, opening his mouth to speak he was cut off by a wailing house elf.

"Master! Tippy is sorry Master, but Young Master Harry is missing! Tippy cannot find Young Master Harry anywhere! Tippy has been a bad house elf, Tippy will punish herself right away Master!"

Tom sat bemused at the house elf ran into the wood on his desk, finally realising that the elf could possibly scratch the varnish on the desk he stood and addressed the insane elf.

"Tippy, I order you to stop this instant!"

The house elf stopped suddenly before falling to its knees "Of course Master, I'm sorry Master"

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose, he could not be dealing with the idiotic house elf this early in the morning "Harry is safe with me, we had an... altercation last night and he stayed in my room. Now, if you please be so kind to send these letters directly to the people mentioned and bring me my coffee it would be most appreciated"

Tippy jumped from the floor with her ears flopping "Yes Master, of course Master!"

Looking down at his desk Tom was pleased to find a cup of coffee and the daily paper had appeared but was also surprised to find and a cup of tea with a permanent heating and stasis charm attached to the item appear. Tom fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, Harry would have won the hearts of the house elves in a week and managed them to also deliver a morning drink.

Picking up both items Tom took a long drink of his black coffee before walking back into his bedroom where he was greeted with the sight of Harry lying curled up in the centre of the bed with Nagini wrapped loosely around him sharing his body heat, trust them to both take up all the room on the bed.

Not bothering to fight back a yawn Tom removed his shoes and sat on the side of the bed, surely Harry wouldn't mind if he fell asleep next to him?

A sleepy voice answered his question "go to sleep Marlo...I'm tired and you're keeping me awake with your loud thoughts"

Tom chuckled before getting under the covers, the house elves could go mad about their creased clothes later in the day but right now he needed sleep. Feeling movement on the bed he sighed as he felt Nagini move to rest her head on his chest while curling her tail around the smaller sleeping boy, he was sure he spoiled both Nagini and Harry a bit too much but he would worry about that at a later date.

With a final smile Tom closed his eyes and submerged himself into a deep sleep full of dreams that were never entirely his.

Unbeknownst to the sleeping Dark Lord Voldemort his letters had finally reached the people they were intended for, by the end of the day the manor would once again be full, and Harry could finally begin his journey which many would intend to destroy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Malfoy Manor**

It was early morning as two figures strode down the brightly lit hallway. The eldest and tallest of the two, Lucius Malfoy, warily checked the time on his pocket watch while his fingers nervously drummed musical motifs on the top of his silver snake head cane.

The second figure, Draco Malfoy, regarded his father with a calculated gaze as his need for sleep became quickly forgotten as he watched the man before him nervously pace and fidget, a trait so rarely seen in the Malfoy Lord it was almost beginning to worry the youngest of the duo.

Draco however wisely remained silent, while it was rare to see his father in such a state he knew that questioning the elder male would only result in clipped words and a sharp short stinging hex aimed at him for his constant pestering, something that the eleven year old would rather not face first thing in a morning.

Hearing the clock begin it's chimes, Lucius pulled out a piece of parchment from his inside pocket, it's edges slightly creased from where both he and Narcissa had both read and re-read its contents numerous times in the past hour.

Holding out the parchment Lucius indicated that Draco too should grasp it. Needing no other indication by his Father as he was well educated in the means of wizarding transport, he was about to endure Draco grasped the parchment in a solid grip. Hearing the clock strike it's eighth chime both he and Lucius disappeared in a whirl of colour.

**Riddle Manor**

Blinking rapidly at the incoming sunlight Harry rolled as he slowly began to awake, his arm reaching over to pull a pillow closer to him to block out the invasive light. With a satisfied hum Harry slowly began to sink back into a deep dreamless sleep.

"Harry, I'm going to give you five seconds to get out of bed before I make you get out of bed" Tom stood, arms crossed at the end of his own bed which Harry, by the looks of it taken a liking too. With his wand clasped loosely between his long pale fingers he spoke again "I'm warning you Harry"

The duvet being pulled higher was the only response Tom got.

"Be it on your own head then. Five...Four...Three..."

"You wouldn't dare" Harry murmured from his warm cocoon having caught a glimpse of the plan Tom had formed in his mind.

"...Two...One..." With a lazy flick of his wand the duvet which was wrapped around Harry came flying off and with a smirk at the shocked boys face Tom spoke clearly "Aguamenti"

Harry suddenly shot up, his body dripping wet with icy water "you did dare do it!"

With a satisfied look at the dripping wet boy Tom shrugged "I gave you the option to get out of this dry but you didn't take it. Now, come. Today is going to be a very busy day and if you are not dressed and downstairs in ten minutes I will Accio you to meet our guests regardless of your state of attire"

Harry needed no other warning as he ran down the hallway to his own room.

**Guest reception and Wizarding Transportation room**

Landing Lucius took in the large open room; with its high ceilings resonating light and the elaborately decorated walls painted a light baby blue the room gave the awaiting guest or guests an insight into the beauty with the rest of the house would undoubtedly hold.

To his left was a long wall which held numerous fireplaces which occasionally flared to life with vibrant green and black flames as house elves clutching letters ran in and out of the fire without a glance his way and with determined looks set deep into their wrinkled faces.

Lucius took notice of this, while he himself would normally send an owl without a second thought, he now realised, watching the elves movements, how easy it would be to intercept and read owl post but with this method a house elf had the chance to disappear if in trouble while the Floo network allowed his Lord's whereabouts to remain a secret.

Turning his head from the comings and goings of the elves Lucius began the short walk towards the small group of people which had gathered at the far end of the room before quickly including himself in the conversations that were occurring. "Barty, what a pleasure to see you, how is your undercover work at the Ministry going? I don't believe you have had the pleasure of meeting my heir, Draco"

Unbeknownst the conversing Death Eaters on the other side of the manor, Lord Voldemort stood in the doorway of the large throne room, the time hovering at eye level from his wand as he slowly counted down the seconds left until he forcefully dragged Harry down to meet his guests.

"**_15 seconds"_**

A loud agitated reply resonated throughout Tom's head. _"I know! Stop bothering me and maybe I would get things done faster!"_

Ignoring the boys remark Tom spoke again **_"10 seconds. And don't think I don't mean it. That makes the time left now 5 seconds"_**

As the clock showed the final seconds fall away into the abyss of the past Tom raised his wand to call Harry when he caught sight of a black-haired figure all but tumble down the smooth wooden staircase. Schooling his features into an emotionless mask to conceal the smile of mirth that was threatening to break out on his face, Tom quickly ran his wand over the head of Harry ensuring that he was completely presentable.

"It's such a shame; I was looking forward to watching you fly"

Harry scowled "then maybe if you bought me a broom you could have that pleasure daily"

Tom snorted as he turned to walk towards the large seat on a raised dais at the head of the room "I will once muggles can fly without magic"

At this Harry began to laugh "if I were you Tom, I would look up aeroplanes sometime soon"

With a confused glance at Harry, Tom lowered himself fluidly into the large elaborately decorated seat, with a look towards the waiting house elf Tom smirked as it ran out of the door to fetch his guests.

"You understand what you are to do Harry?"

Tom had gone over the plan in his head numerous times that morning making sure the plan constantly resonated throughout the mind of the sleeping Harry.

Harry walked towards the sitting form of Tom before sitting down himself on the floor next to the throne. While Harry could have easily got Tom to transfigure him a chair, he felt safer sitting closer to the powerful wizard in case his followers got a little out of hand and decided to have an impromptu duel with each other. Harry knew that was not likely to happen with Tom there, but he couldn't help but be nervous about the upcoming visit.

"Of course, my Lord"

With a satisfied smirk at Harry due to the title towards him, he opened the door to his awaited guests while pushing the hood of Harry's robe up to cover his head and plunge his face into the awaiting shadows.

As the doors opened silence reigned throughout the hall as each follower fell to their knees and bowed low.

Regarding the awaiting Death Eaters, Tom took a moment to relish in the sense of power he held over not only the individuals kneeling on the cold granite floor of his throne room, but over the whole of the wizarding world. A power helped by fear. A fear of the terror he excluded through the power of his magic and the power of his well-organised and currently behaved followers.

With a small smirk at the thought of his power Tom finally spoke aloud to his waiting Death Eaters. "My faithful followers, welcome. Please, rise"

At his words the small group of figures clad in long flowing back robes stood and formed a loose semi-circle around the seated Lord Voldemort.

Standing, Tom slowly began to walk down the shallow stone steps from his seat before stopping at the bottom step, allowing himself to stand a foot above the standing Death Eaters he once again spoke, his face like Harry's covered with a large hood, hiding his face and his identity to his followers and creating an air of mystic and allowing the feeling of power through fear to continue.

"You may all be wondering why I have summoned you at this hour. As many of you may have been so observant to notice, we have another person in our ranks"

At this Harry stood and slowly walked to Tom's side, comforted slightly in the elder male's presence Harry began to relax as he slowly removed his hood, revealing his features for the first time.

"May I present to you Harry James Potter"

Stifled gasps met the Dark Lord's ears matched with a sudden outburst from one member of the small group

"My Lord! He is prophesised to kill you, let me do the honours and save you, with him gone you can rule the wizarding world and eradicate the filthy muggles without being stopped by this mere half-blood wizard!"

"_Crucio" __T_he angry red spell hit the outspoken member of the group and flung him backwards; the muted moans of pain resonated and echoed off the stone walls of the throne room.

While Tom's anger was hidden thanks to the large black hood, it was evident in his voice. From the shadows a whisper immerged, silky and deadly. "How dare you Fenrir. Is that any way to speak to your Prince? Your second Lord!"

A second Crucio hit the writhing body of Fenrir Greyback, a wanted werewolf with an unhealthy obsession in creating new werewolves.

With a snarl the Dark Lord continued, his voice steadily rising along with the intensity of his curse. "My patience with your kind is already running thin seeing as one of your little werewolf friends nearly got me and your Prince killed this morning"

"My Lord please...please forgive me! I acted without thinking, I beg for your forgiveness my Lord...my Prince"

Tom stopped the curse and turned away from the writhing figure on the ground "one last chance Fenrir. You're lucky that I need your skills, otherwise I would have killed you without a second thought"

Fenrir gasped and shakily knelt, bowing low to the ground. "Thank you, my Lord, you are too kind, too generous, and my Prince, I beg for your forgiveness, I was not thinking"

Harry nervously glanced up at Tom, while he knew he was to become the Dark Prince Deimos - the Greek personification of terror in war, Harry still had a long way to go and seeing a grown man beg for his forgiveness scared Harry as he knew what it was like to be at the mercy of another.

Sensing Harry's distress Tom cast a nonverbal silencing spell at the bowing werewolf, while he knew that Fenrir could easy throw it off in a matter of seconds, Tom also knew that Fenrir would remain silent having registered his Lord's growing impatience and his wish for him to remain silent.

Sending a silent message of reassurance and information to Harry, Tom once again continued with his meeting.

"As I was saying, I am here to present to you Harry James Potter - your new Dark Prince Deimos. Only you select few will know of his true identity within our ranks and if it comes to light that any one of you has revealed our deepest secret to anyone outside this group, the resulting punishment will be most severe. Do you understand?"

Choruses of 'yes my Lord' rang in harmony throughout the large room. Tom suspected that once dismissed the group would all go and perform Wizarding Oaths to prove their loyalty to him, to their Dark Lord.

Smirking at the thought Tom continued. "Furthermore, I have also called you here I need your talents. Your Prince needs some private tutoring and I have deemed each of you competent enough for such a privilege. While I know that we only have one week left until the beginning of the Hogwarts School Year I expect your Prince to have sufficient knowledge of the subjects which are offered at Hogwarts to help us with our current alibi"

At this each of the standing Death Eaters nodded, if their Lord had deemed it important for them to teach their new Prince, they would teach until their Lord deemed their job done to a sufficient standard.

Scanning his eyes over the crowd Tom stopped at Lucius and a small white blonde head which stood between his father and his Aunt Bellatrix.

"Ah Lucius, you have brought Draco as planned. How magnificent"

At this Harry frowned, while he had caught sight of the small figure as he entered the room he had not thought anything of it until this particular moment, just before he could ask Tom the reasoning of him requesting Lucius to bring what appeared to be his son along his question was answered.

"Deimos, I have requested Draco to be come along today for your own benefit. After our little...chat last night I have concluded that perhaps it is needed for you to have some interaction which a person your own age before you get to Hogwarts"

Any confusion to the sudden name change was quickly converted to surprise. Restraining the urge to hug Tom for listening to his request that morning he settled for a reserved nod of the head and a curious glance towards Draco before he was broken from his muse by a familiar voice in his mind.

"**_Harry, or should I say Dark Prince Deimos, I do believe the young Malfoy Heir is waiting for his future Prince to lead the way out of the room. Unless of course you wish to stay for this meeting and hear about my – no, our followers reports?"_**

Harry didn't need telling twice as he walked towards the door without a second glance back, the laughter of Tom followed him in his mind as he walked out of the door into the hallway with a silent Draco trailing behind.

Reaching the informal sitting room Harry finally turned to take a proper look at Draco only to be confronted with his guest kneeling on the carpeted floor like his father had done just minutes previously. Hiding his sudden alarm Harry moved to sit on the large armchair before compiling the information he had siphoned from Tom's own memory on how to deal with situations like the one he was currently faced with.

"Rise Draco, please come and have a seat with me"

Watching the young Malfoy Heir rise and come and sit on the seat opposite him, Harry was struck with a sudden realisation of how real the situation was, how at only ten years old he was in joint command with the most powerful Dark Wizard the Wizarding World had seen and the person who could bring destruction and terror to the world by his own choices. It was at this Harry realised that the name Deimos was fitting in many ways.

It was Draco that broke the silence in the room with a quiet sincere whisper.

"My Prince, it is a pleasure to be here. With your acceptance I would be honoured to serve you with as much loyalty as my Father serves the Dark Lord until the time comes when I can serve both you and the Dark Lord."

Harry pondered this for a few seconds, weighing up the options that had presented themselves before him. "I will accept your proposition Draco, on a few conditions"

"Anything my Prince"

"First, call me Harry, I hope that you are not only to be my follower, I wish to look on you as a friend and a confidant, I understand that this may take time but I hope we can create a working relationship in the near future"

At this Draco's composed features morphed into pure shock before he managed to compose himself to a level suitable for a pureblood of his and his parent's statue.

"You are too kind Harry; I would be honoured to be known as your friend and confidant"

“Secondly, Deimos or my Prince is to only be used in formal settings or around people who do not know my identity. If my face is ever hidden, I am no longer Harry, in the future my disguise will be known by Deimos only”

Nodding his head as Harry spoke, he watched as a genuine smile stretched across Harry's face as he extended his hand "to our new friendship"

At this Draco shook his hand, a similar smile etched across his own face.

**Private Sitting Rooms**

With a yawn Tom slowly ambled into his private sitting rooms, the meeting had taken longer than expected and even thought the day was only just half way through it felt as if it had gone on forever, he expected that was due to the lack of sleep he had received the previous night.

His followers had left an hour earlier with specific instructions to be at the manor at eleven the next morning to begin their Prince's training.

At the thought of Harry or Deimos, a name which Tom was sure he would be using more frequently in the coming years he began to cast his mind out to find the young boy, he didn't have to cast far as voices met his ears.

Relaxing back into the seat Tom gave a half smile at the appearance of Harry and the young Malfoy Heir walking towards him with animated gestures and laughing faces.

It was Harry that first saw Tom as his face broke out into a wide grin, a passing thought crossed Tom's mind of teaching Harry proper Wizarding Etiquette in situations like the one they were currently in, that thought was quickly followed by the hope that Harry didn't call him Tom or Marlo in front of Draco.

Draco was a second behind Harry in registered who the sitting man was, it was only Harry exclamation of 'Voldemort!' which had the Malfoy Heir falling to his knees and bowing mere metres from Tom's feet.

"My Lord"

Tom resisted the urge to roll his eyes "Draco, please rise. If I know Harry then you are probably in his eyes friends. Your Father has returned to the Malfoy Manor, I expect you are able to make your way home through the Floo Network alone?"

A snigger crossed Tom's mind quickly followed by Harry's voice _"playing babysitter now are we Tom?"_

Tom glared at Harry's blank face as Draco answered his question

"Yes, My Lord. With your permission for the use of your Floo network I believe it is my time to return home"

Tom nodded in agreement as he watched intently the interaction between Harry and Draco as they said their goodbyes and agreements to write to each other in the next week before the beginning of the Hogwarts

As the Floo network roared to life and quietly died down Harry turned and collapsed into the seat next to Tom before shaking his head in amazement

"I really am the Dark Prince Deimos, aren't I?"

Tom smiled as he watched Harry try and grasp the concept of the power he now held before answering him "yes Harry, you are. Now let's show the Wizarding World how much power we have"

Harry's grin was the only response Tom got.


	6. Chapter 6

"Enough! I can't take much more of this; we've been at this for hours!" An exhausted Harry fell to the floor panting heavily with his wand clutched tightly in his hand. It was the fourth day of his extra training and Tom had finally deemed him competent enough to duel against his followers, one after another.

Bella's mad laugher rang in Harry's ears as he quickly rolled onto his side to avoid being burnt by a well-aimed fire curse. Whilst Harry knew that Tom would not let any immediate life-threatening damage come to him during the duel, he still sported numerous cuts and burn marks from his lack of judgement and his delayed reflexes.

Harry could feel his magical core slowly being depleted from the amount of magic he was using to try and protect himself from the onslaught of curses being thrown his way by insane and powerful witches and wizards as he threw numerous curses back at his opponents, determined to prove to them and himself that he was worthy of being their Dark Prince regardless of his young age.

Dodging a well-aimed Crucio just in time Harry began to feel faint, his vision blurred and his body softly swayed as he fought to remain upright. It only took another curse from his wand for Harry's knees to buckle without warning and from him to collapse onto the floor in a hunched kneeling position as exhaustion and magical drain finally took hold of his small frame.

Instantaneously all magical activity from the witches and wizards stopped, they all knew that firing a spell at a magically drained adult could cause catastrophic damage to their core as their body would try and absorb the others magic as its own, causing what many healers called Magical Poisoning and could render the adult with only half a magical core, but the prospect of that happening to a young child who's magical core was still developing every day was almost unthinkable.

With quick strides a woman with striking white blonde hair and dark blue eyes approached Harry who was now lying on the floor exhausted. To an outsider the woman looked every inch a wealthy pureblood that would to many-if not all people; appear to be cold and uncaring. However, to a person who did know Narcissa Malfoy, they would see a kind hearted witch who cared for every person that was in need of medical attention, the direct opposite to her insane sister Bellatrix who rarely showed kindness and would rather be the reason as to why her sister was constantly caring for Death Eaters who had been on the opposite end of infamous Lestrange Cruciatus Curse.

Kneeling in front of Harry, Narcissa pulled out her wand before running a low-level diagnosis spell over him, one which Narcissa knew would not cause any harm to the drained boy. Happy with the results she stood and reached into her robe pocket to pull out a small crystal vial filled with a light blue potion, lifting up Harry's head Narcissa slowly fed the potion to him before smiling slightly at the look a disdain that crossed the young boys features at the taste.

Happy that the potion had been consumed Narcissa stood before reaching down to pick him up, before she could however lift Harry, he was swept away from her by two pale muscled arms. Gasping in shock Narcissa looked up to have a pair of large crimson eyes meet her gaze, ducking her head quickly she allowed The Dark Prince to be picked up by her husband's Lord Voldemort, while she herself was not a Death Eater she was sworn by a Magical Oath to keep the identity of her patients secret allowing her free reign in the manor.

Tom waited until Narcissa was back on her feet before speaking. "I trust he will recover quickly, Narcissa" his tone giving every indication that his statement was not a question.

With a slight nod of the head Narcissa answered. "Of course, the Prince here should be back to his normal magical capacity by later this evening"

With of nod of his own Tom turned and dismissed his Death Eaters before leaving the room and walking towards the library. Placing the slumbering Harry onto the large lounge chair by the lit fire, Tom moved back to his makeshift desk to continue working. With the Ministry still doing background checks on all employers his spies were getting restless at the prospect of being found and either thrown into Azkaban to live the rest of their days there, or worse, sentenced to the Kiss.

It was hours until the sleeping figured moved and awoke and for Tom it couldn't have come quicker for the Order of the Phoenix had contacted Bella and Barty-who were still under the alias of Lord and Lady Moros- to a meeting that evening and had expressed their delight at the prospect of "young Harry" attending so he could form strong friendships before reaching Hogwarts.

Tom whilst reading this letter had to erect silencing wards around his desk while he laughed at the very thought of the Order thinking Harry was going to fall for the fake friendships that were to be pressed onto him. It only took the mention of the Weasley family wanting Harry to become intertwined with their loving horde for Tom to once again laugh causing a handful of House Elves who were present in the library to run in fear.

Looking over at the now sitting Harry, Tom ran a quick diagnostic spell over him. Pleased that his magical core was now back to its necessary level Tom ran an eye over him to make sure there were no serious injuries to his body which would lead to unnecessary questions being answered by the Order.

Spotting a cut on Harry's left palm Tom stood and crouched down in front of Harry, raising his wand Tom went to place is near the mark only to have the cut disappear behind a small pale hand.

"Harry?" Tom was now confused, surely Harry wanted to be healed.

"Leave it Tom; it will do no harm for it to be there. What is the Order going to do about one small cut? Besides, I now have a battle wound to show Draco that I can use magic"

Tom rolled his eyes "I'm sure even if you sported the magical ability of a toad, Draco would still be loyal to you"

"I am afraid you are wrong Tom. If I sported the magical ability of a toad, you would not have named me the Dark Prince"

At this Tom raised his eyebrow "Regardless of your magical ability, let me clean that wound otherwise your hand will drop off and that would be most unhelpful"

Harry slowly removed his right hand from his left palm "you will leave the cut there though, won’t you?"

Running his wand over the cut Tom choose not to answer Harry, placing his wand back into its holder Tom checked Harry's hand once more to make sure the wound was clean.

"Finished, now go and get changed. We are already running behind schedule"

Watching Harry run out of the room Tom frowned, he was sure Harry not only wanted his battle wound to prove to Draco that he was capable of magic, but also to also prove to himself that he could improve his magical skills. With a shake of his head Tom walked out of the room, he was positive that Harry wanted a scar as a permanent reminder that he could always do better.

**The Burrow**

Standing outside the door to a decrepit cottage which appeared to only be held together by magic the three guests each wore similar looks of disdain. Deciding not to touch the door with his hand Barty raised Lord Velius’ cane and knocked three times before waiting for the door to open.

Without turning his head or giving any outside indication of speaking Harry whispered to Bellatrix. "Why do I have the feeling this is going to be worse than a Crucio?" Bellatrix nodded in agreement, even though she had been going to these meetings for over a year, she was sure she would never get accustomed to them.

Without warning the rickety front door opened and a large woman with wild curled hair holding a wooden spoon greeted them with a large smile "Oh do come in, do come in, and Harry! Look at how you have grown; Ron will be so pleased to meet you! I'm sure you will be become the best of friends"

Throwing a pleading glance towards Bellatrix he was greeted by the sight of her and Barty being ushered into the kitchen by a small redheaded girl. Harry knew instantly he was on his own.

"Now if you go up the stairs to the top floor you will reach Ron's room, I'm sure he's in there waiting for you already. Okay dear?"

With another large smile and a pat on the shoulder the Weasley woman walked away before shutting the kitchen door leaving Harry with a sense of bewilderment as to what happened, placing one foot on the stairs he began to climb to the top floor while mentally messaging Tom. _"You had better have something good in store for me to recover from this extended trip into hell". _Tom's laughter was all he received back before Tom reminded him that he would get a gift at his birthday the next day.

Schooling the large grin that threatened to break out on his face at the prospect of a birthday gift from Tom, Harry finally reached the top floor of the seemingly endless cottage. Standing in front of a small wooden door the sounds of laughter, arguments and loud raucous voices reached his ears. Harry's face twisted into sneer of disgust, they sounded like Dudley and his friends whenever they had visited the Dursley household.

With the comforting thought of his wand only being up his sleeve in the holster in case he encountered any trouble, Harry lifted his hand and knocked three times as Barty had done only moments earlier. Instantly the noise stopped, and the whispering began, through the wood Harry caught snippets of the hushed conversation that was occurring, but one statement stood out.

"It's the famous Harry Potter! Here in my house, we are to be best friends. Dumbledore promised that he would be our friend and saviour"

With his and Tom's anger at Dumbledore now pumping through his veins Harry gave up on waiting and opened the door only to be greeted with a sickly bright orange room containing equally orange headed children.

Silence instantly fell across the room as Harry stood in the doorway glaring at each one of them; a smirk slowly blossomed on his face as he regarded their faces knowing instantly what they all must be thinking.

With his flowing wavy shoulder length black hair and his unearthly green eyes, Harry looked every inch a Prince of Slytherin. Matched with his shimmering silver silk shirt, his black crushed velvet robes and his knee-high dragon hide boots Harry oozed power, money and wealth.

Deciding that it would be best for Tom's plans Harry extended his hand towards a boy Harry guessed was his own age.

"My name's Harry, Harry Potter and it is a pleasure to meet you all at last. Aunt Adriella and Uncle Velius have told me all about you all. We saw each other briefly at Ollivanders a few weeks back."

Harry stood with his hand stretched out for what felt like an eternity before the boy finally regained his senses and quickly shook his hand before letting go in favour to step closer to try and see under this fringe.

"Ron Weasley. Are you really Harry Potter? And have you really got – you know..."

Standing dumfounded at Ron's outburst it took Harry a moment to understand what he was trying to ask.

"The scar? My name wouldn't be Harry Potter if I hadn't got it, would it? And my Aunt and Uncle wouldn't be here at an Order meeting either. "

Harry could tell instantly that it was going to be difficult to try and stay on amicable terms with Ron as he reminded Harry with each passing second of Dudley. With his disregard of private information, personal space and his ability to ask the most stupid and plainly obvious questions.

Looking around the room for a place to sit, Harry frowned. Whilst he was able to use magic at the manor with the knowledge that the Ministry would not find out, he knew that doing magic here would likely result in a letter appearing before him warning him of his use of magic.

Having found nowhere to sit Harry leant against the back of the now closed door, his fingers still unconsciously running over the wood at the end of his wand, he had heard of the term 'being thrown into the lion's den' before but he had never believed he would ever use it, but standing in the orange room, Harry believe it to be a fitting statement.

It was a tall pompous redhead that spoke first "I'm Percy Weasley; I will be the Gryffindor prefect for the coming year, the best house in Hogwarts. Mother is so proud to have me a Gryffindor prefect, our whole family have been in Gryffindor and of course your parents, they were in Gryffindor also, I suppose you will be joining us there, tradition and all."

Harry all but rolled his eyes at the gangly teenager, with malicious glee Harry decided to throw the cat among the pigeons, or in the case, the poisonous snake among the sleepy lions.

"I'm actually hoping to become a Slytherin, Uncle Velius and Aunt Adriella have spoken highly of the house along with Lord and Lady Malfoy, Draco also seems excited of the prospect of following in his parent's footsteps and I wish to follow in the footsteps of the people who brought me up, not of those I only have stories of."

Shocked gasps met his ears before Harry learnt the hard way as to why the Gryffindor house had a mascot of a lion.

"SLYTHERIN AND MALFOY! You're meant to be Harry Potter, the saviour! Not some dark wizard! I bet you run bow down to you-know-who too like your Aunt and Uncle used too, and I bet they are spies and are going to kill us all!"

At this Harry's anger began to stir, the air in the small dark room began to hum with magic as objects began to shake and crack, with a deathly whisper Harry spoke to Ron.

"Are you calling my family murders, Weasley? That all members of the Slytherin house are followers of Voldemort? I would be ashamed of myself if I were you, talking about things you are too young to even understand, making up stories and false accusations of people you don't even know. Draco Malfoy happens to be a very close friend and I would be happy to associate myself with supposed dark wizard if it meant I didn't have to talk to narrow minded fools like yourself."

The Weasley's weren't given enough time to react to Harry's use of Voldemort as Harry turned and blasted apart the door with a wave of wandless magic which couldn't be detected by the Ministry. Tom's anger once again flared through his body causing his adrenaline and magic to pump through his veins like a drug.

Throwing the door open to the kitchen open he was met with silence; Harry could see himself in the small mirror above the fireplace. His hair moved about his face as if a wind had wrapped itself around his body, caressing his face with gentle touches, tearing at his clothes with hurricane force. His green eyes darkened by the minute as his pupils dilated giving the impression of him being a drug addict, addicted to his own magic.

Instantly Bellatrix and Barty rose and moved either side of him, at the same time the Weasley children fell into the kitchen and began talking at once, only snippets of what each child was saying could be detected by the stunned adults.

"...dark..."

"...I bet they are spies..."

"...best friends with Malfoy..."

"...wants to be a Slytherin..."

With a wave of his wand Dumbledore silenced every Weasley child before standing, his crescent shaped glasses sliding down his narrow nose as he mentally assessed the situation, in a clear voice he finally spoke.

"Mr Potter, we you be so kind as to clearly explain the situation which has occurred upstairs"

Harry seethed, his hand itching to reach for his wand and blast the old fool across the room and slowly kill him, deciding that doing so in a room full or Auror's and magically able witches and wizard wasn't the best idea, Harry spoke in a strained voice at the man he detested for ruining his life.

"I merely told then that I would not mind being sorted into the Slytherin house at Hogwarts as I wished to follow in the footsteps of the people that raised me and not the people I only have stories of, and also that I was close friends with Draco Malfoy and the Malfoy family, who were cleared of all dark activity."

The last part of Harry's speech was aimed at the Ron who was slowly turning redder and redder with each word spoken. It was then that Harry decided that red was his least favourite colour and would be glad if he never had to see that colour again. Harry then continued.

"It was them who came to the assumption that Uncle Velius and Aunt Adriella, along with me were Voldemort sympathisers and were also spies."

This time the room had change to react to Harry casually using Voldemort, whispers flowed round the room until Dumbledore silenced them with a look and then spoke once more.

"I am sure that they meant no harm by what they said, I am sure they were just shocked by you wanting to be in the Slytherin house"

Harry could feel Bella and Barty began to get angry. It was Barty that made the decision to diffuse the situation.

"I am sure no harm was intended but I can see it has greatly upset Harry here. He and Draco have been close friends for years and have both wished to be a member of the Slytherin house, I can see that this may cause a few disputes being he is the saviour but whichever house he goes in shall be grateful to receive him. As for the notation we are spies, it may take more time to heal, not only on Harry's part, but on our part also. We are not happy about our past and to have these accusations brought up is hurtful. I believe we shall bid you goodnight"

With that all three of them walked to the front door and left, Harry's anger slowly seeping out of his with every step away from the house. Crossing the ward boundaries Harry looked up at Barty with wonder, the speech he had just made was the longest he had ever heard from the man and Harry could now see why Tom had chosen him to take the disguise of Lord Velius as when placed in tense situations Barty had a way with words.

Apparating away they once more landed outside the gates of the manor, it was then Bella looked down at Harry and answered the statement Harry had asked her earlier that evening.

"You were right, that was more painful than a Crucio"

Harry laughed at this as the three of them walked towards the gates which opened silently for them. With a slight smile on his face Harry spoke once more.

"And Tom better have one good birthday present lined up for me tomorrow after going through that"

The laughter lasted until they reached the front door.


	7. Chapter 7

It was nearing midnight on the eve of Harry's eleventh birthday as Tom sat scowling at his familiar Nagini who was curled protectively around her clutch of baby snakes, hissing venomously whenever Tom moved towards her.

While it was unusual for snakes to protect their young after birth, Nagini's young were no normal snakes. With the ability to form connections with wizards they were highly sought after as pets and potions ingredients.

Sitting back on his heels Tom sighed before speaking softly to her in Parseltongue .**_~Nagini_****, _please, I just need one snake for Harry. You know how he has been longing for one of your clutches; just one small babe is all I need~._**

Nagini hissed before lurching forward to bite him, quickly eradicated a protective barrier around himself to save himself being bitten Tom glared at her. While her venom wouldn't kill him, Tom knew just how much it would sting if she had managed to land an attack on him.

Lying back down around her snakes Nagini hissed back to Tom. **~You shall not touch my chicks Master, regardless of who they are for. I refuse to have one of my own go to a wizard without a familiar bond involved, regardless of who the human is. If my chicks wish to go to your human, then they will on their own terms~.**

Standing, Tom continued to glare as Nagini before turned on his heel and apparating back into his study. His plan had been to give Harry a snake for his eleventh birthday, a fitting present for the Dark Prince he had thought but now Tom was back to square one with only a few hours until Harry came bouncing into his room wanting to see what Tom had got him for his first birthday present.

Rubbing his face Tom began to feel stressed; surely Harry had everything he needed? Harry had power, had people who would throw themselves in front of a curse for him. Tom began to pace around his room. Harry had the chance to have the wizarding world tremble at his very name and he had Tom, his Marlo as Harry constantly reminded him, Harry had now got a second family.

At this Tom stopped suddenly, Harry never had the chance to know his real family because of Dumbledore, but what if he could give Harry the chance to learn about his real family. With a sudden plan blooming in his mind Tom once again turned on his heel and Apparated out of the office.

**The Burrow**

Molly Weasley paused for breath as she glanced down at her youngest son who was currently sitting shamefaced on a kitchen chair, if was hours after the Harry and his adopted family had left and Ron was still being shouted at for being disrespectful to one of the most influential pureblood families and also for possibly ruining the chance of making the Wizarding World saviour fall into favour with Dumbledore.

Dumbledore himself was regarding the scene with calculating eyes, his whole plans for the evening had been ruined by the youngest male Weasley losing his temper at the prospect of a Slytherin saviour, if only he had informed the Weasley's earlier that Harry would be made sure to go into Gryffindor and grow up to become the loyal pawn Dumbledore wanted. Dumbledore smiled; he would make sure everything would go right. Harry Potter, his Gryffindor saviour who would follow him blindly to his death only to give Dumbledore more power. It would all be perfect.

The Light Lord's musing was cut short by Nymphadora Tonks falling through the kitchen Floo, her red Auror robes slowly becoming stained black by the blood seeping from a deep cut on her left clavicle. Searching the room quickly her panicked eyes quickly fell upon Dumbledore; a moment of relief caused her shoulders to sag in relief as she spoke quickly, her voice husky from obvious overuse shouting orders. "Albus, its Azkaban, he's attacking now. You-know-who is attacking Azkaban!"

**Azkaban Prison**

Screams of fear echoed off the walls and mingled with insane laughter of the released prisoners as the demontors’ turned on the unsuspecting guards. Cracks of apparition broke through the screams as various lights from spells flew from the frantic Aurors as they danced with the Death Eaters who began to conduct the song of battle. Fizzles and cracks flew through the air as the Dark wizards slowly pushed there was forward, forcing the Aurors back.

Standing in the centre of the battle stood the Dark Lord himself, his wand poised as he oversaw the commencing orchestral melody written by himself for his own pleasure. Waves of spells flew towards him as he calmly batted them away as a muggle would do to a small fly. Turning to his side the Dark Lord smirked as he casually watched an Auror fall into the awaiting abyss of the dementor.

_Time Skip_

Tom swore to himself as he limped up the stairs, his breathing laboured as the pain from his numerous injuries increased with every movement he made. It had been a fatal mistake on his behalf to let his guard down thinking that the now dead Auror who was facing a dementor couldn't fight and he was now paying the price as blood seeped from numerous cuts which littered his body making him feel weary from blood loss with every step.

It was eerily quiet as he reached the top floors of the prison; the remaining guards sat lifeless against the cold stone walls; their eyes glassy as the dementor's slowly fed freely from them, the guards mind too broken to even scream in terror.

Reaching the far end of the corridor Tom stopped, a split second of relief flowed through him as his crimson eyes fell upon the figure he had come to rescue. Dark eyes glanced up at him in question as Tom cast a non-verbal spell to blow the cell door from its hinges.

A snarl met Tom's ears as he crouched in front of the sitting figure, within a split second the sitting body threw itself at Tom, screams of anger and hatred fell from the cracked man's lips. Gasping in pain Tom bound the angered man before silencing him. Deciding that speaking to the man would only take too long Tom pointed his wand at the man and cast the Imperious curse before passing him his wand, a moment later Sirius Black descended into the mind of Tom Marvolo Riddle to find out the truth about the Potter's death.

**The Manor**

It was a chorus of "Happy Birthday Young Master Harry!" that awoke Harry from his slumber on the morning of July 31st. Opening one eye Harry grinned at the sight that was presented before him. At the foot of the bed were the manor's house elves holding various items wrapped up in colourful paper and hovering trays of assorted foods for Harry's breakfast.

Grinning Harry mentally searched out for Tom to wake him up but was met suddenly with a large mental barrier. Standing Harry frowned and addressed the house elves that were now looking at each other with heads bent.

"Where is Tom?"

Harry was met with silence.

"I am being quite patient right now, where is he?"

A timid voice answered him back.

"Master Voldemort is in the medical wing Young Master Harry. He went on a raid last night and came back injured with a man".

At this Harry sprinted out of the room, his bare feet echoing off the wooden floor causing the portraits to awake suddenly in confusion. Throwing door after door open Harry continued running to the east side of the manor before throwing the medical door open. The sight that awaited him caused Harry to gasp in shock.

Timidly Harry walked over to the sleeping Dark Lord, climbing slowly onto the bed Harry took hold of the still hand. The usually vibrant and powerful man looked a fraction of himself, with bandages covering every inch of his chest and arms and his face a pale sickly white. To Harry he looked to be near death's door.

A rustle behind him had Harry grabbing Tom's wand from the side table as he turned and pointed it at the intruder.

"Calm, it is just me"

The melodic voice of Narcissa Malfoy calmed Harry immediately as he lowered Tom's wand from her face.

"What happened? He's going to okay, right? H-he won't d-di...just please, tell me he will be okay"

His voice caught on one word as he quickly changed his sentence. He couldn't bring himself to speak the dreaded word; fearful of it he did he would cause it to come true.

"I'm not going to die. I'm too great for that"

It was Tom's voice that answered Harry question as the bed moved below him.

"Marlo!" Harry cried in surprise as he launched himself at Tom to bury his head in the junction of Tom's shoulder and neck.

A hiss of pain tore itself from Tom's lips as Harry threw himself at him. Noticing this Harry let go and frowned before beginning his lecture that Tom had already guessed was to come.

"What were you thinking? What were you even doing? I'll tell you what you were doing; you were acting like an idiotic Gryffindor, that's what you were doing. I have no sympathy for you at all. Did somebody Imperio you? Is that going to be your excuse?"

From the opposite end of the room a croaky voice answered with a hint of a chuckle. "He wasn't place under the Imperio curse, but I certainly was".

Whirling round Harry glared at the new figure "and who may you be? I'm betting the person responsible for this mess. You look the type".

At this the dark-haired man laughed loudly. "Just like your mother, she said the same thing to me when James and I first pranked Snivellus. My name is Sirius Black, honouree Marauder, best friend of James Potter, convicted murderer – even though I am rightfully innocent until I get my hands on both Wormtail and Dumbledore and may I also add your godfather".

Tom continued from Sirius once he had finished "I would like to add he is also your birthday present".

At this both Harry and Sirius looked at him in shock and spoke at the same time.

"I'm what?"

"He's what?"

Tom smirked "you Sirius Orion Black are Dark Prince Deimos, or Harry Potter's eleventh birthday present. I decided that because Harry never had a chance to know his real parents, maybe he could have the chance to get to know a person who did know them, and yes I think I have turned into a Gryffindor, I suppose that's what happens when you rescue one"

Harry hugged Tom before whispering in his ear "thank you Marlo". Getting off the bed Harry walked towards the dark haired man before climbing up next to him. "I suppose I owe you an apology Mr Black".

Sirius snorted "Sirius is fine, Harry. Or should I call you Prince Deimos now seeing as you are going to be my second Lord. God imagine James and Lily's faces if they knew that" Sirius laughed softly. "I suppose I should put a bow on my head if I'm your present right?"

At this Harry laughed before he hugged his godfather for the first time "you're not bad, for a Gryffindor"

Sirius smirked back "of course I'm not, I'm powerful, I'm rich, I will be handsome again and I'm your Auntie Bella's and the wonderful Narcissa's cousin".

Getting off the bed Harry rolled his eyes "whatever you say Sirius" before turning them to the attention of Tom.

"Now you are both awake I believe it is time for presents and guests, now come on!"

Groans of despair met the smirking Prince's ears.

**Late Afternoon, the private sitting room**

Sitting back Tom smiled sadly as he watched Harry open his presents with delicate precision, making sure that each piece of paper was folded neatly in a pile afterwards before he went on to treasure the gift that was inside.

It had appeared that Harry had settled in nicely at the manor but watching how he made sure to keep things tidy and pristine Tom mused as to how much lingering damage had been caused by the Dursley's years of mistreatment. While it couldn't be said that Tom's interaction throughout the years had helped Harry through some of the mistreatment, there was only so much a figure in a person's mind could do.

Turning his attention back from his thoughts by Harry calling his name he was momentarily blinded as a flash from a wizarding camera went off near his face. With eyes watering Tom glowered at a giggling Harry while the occupants in the room fought to keep a straight face. Any thought of Tom banishing the camera to the far reaches the world disappeared when Harry spoke.

"Look what Tipsy got me! Isn't it great? Now I can treasure every moment that is special”

Nodding Tom decided to first punish the house elf who had thought it was a good idea to buy Harry a camera, and then praise him for placing a blinding smile on the young boys’ face.

A subtle hiss drew the room to silence as Nagini slowly slid into the room, her clutch of snakes lazily following behind her. Kneeling to the ground Harry drew his hand slowly over her triangular head electing a hiss of pleasure from the snake.

**~Happy Birthday Master Harry, I wish to grant you one of my snakes as a present for your special day~**

At this Tom stood up in anger **_~Nagini! You damned snake! You had this planned didn't you? I nearly went and got myself killed because you wouldn't give me a snake all because you wanted to give him one yourself. I don't believe this! ~_**

Nagini quickly responded **~you only nearly got killed because you acted like a rash Gryffindor~**

Harry laughed at Tom having understood every word that had just been exchanged between the man and his snake _~ I would be honoured if you gifted me one of your beautiful clutches; and Tom, stop pouting like a girl. You're ruining your Dark Lord image"_

Tom instantly sat down as he silently began to seethe and conjured up ways in which Nagini could be used by Severus to make his next batch of potions more potent.

As Harry sat crossed legged in the middle of the floor one by one each baby snake nervously slithered its way over to him before they each assessed if the sitting human was worthy of his attention, one by one each snake turned away and moved back to their mother.

Harry was starting to get worried, what if none of them liked him? The group before him now only held four snakes as one bold snake slithered towards him, its tongue tasting the air quickly before it began to climb up Harry's awaiting arm. With a satisfied hiss the snake nudged his head against Harry's cheek.

_+You are worthy of my attention human Master+_

With a laugh Harry stroked his new snake's head dark emerald head with a single finger _~and what is your name? ~_

_\+ Volos, and yours Master?+_

_~ Deimos or Harry will be fine~_

_+Then you shall be named Master Deimos, not some pathetic muggle name like Harry+_

Looking up from his new pet familiar Harry laughed at the frightened gazes he was looking from everyone except for Tom, who was sitting smirking at the interaction between Harry and Volos.

It was Draco that broke the silence as he timidly came and kneeled beside him with a wrapped gift in his hands "my Prince, I would be honoured if I could present you with my gift from me"

"But Draco, your family have already gifted me with something spectacular, you need not give me anything else" Harry smiled in memory of the broomstick that was currently being inspected by Sirius with wonder and joy in his eyes and the image of the newest racing broom on the market.

"I know that my Prince, but I wish to give you something that has come from only me"

Nodded his head in understanding Harry reached and took the gift from his hands before carefully opening it and folding the paper. Looking down at the velvet box before him Harry felt a second of surprise come from Tom which was instantly followed by a wave of immense approval.

Looking up at Draco in confusion it was Lucius who answered his unspoken question.

"My Prince, all pureblood families gift their children with an item of jewellery at their birth with the family crest on it which is tied to the child's magical signature. By giving it away to somebody, you allow that person if they so desired to use the item to destroy the individuals magical core by destroying the item. By giving you this item, I believe it is Draco's way of telling you he will forever be loyal to you."

At this Harry's eyes widened at he opened the box to be met with a sparkling pendant, encrusted with emeralds and diamonds with the Malfoy crest placed in the centre. Raising it out of the box Harry went to put it on but was stopped by Draco's own hands.

"My Prince allow me, please"

With a nod of his head Harry felt Draco move behind him and place the pendent over his head. A warm pulse suddenly emitted itself from the pendent and Harry became instantly aware of the magic that coursed through Draco's body. Whilst it was not uncomfortable as Harry had become use to it from Tom over the years, it took him a minute to separate Draco's magic from Tom's overpowering magic.

"I thank you Draco, this was more than I could have hoped for"

Blushing Draco mumbled his thanks before moving back to sit next to his family.

Standing up Harry moved over to sit next to Tom; with a smile Harry carefully slotted himself between Tom and the arm of the large armchair so Volos would not be disturbed before watching the interactions of his new adopted family.

Without looking up Harry began to mentally converse with Tom.

"_Thank you, Tom, you have given me the best birthday ever"_

In an uncharacteristic display of affection Tom put one arm around the shoulders of the young boy before dropping a kiss onto the top of his head.

"**_It was nothing my little snake"_**

Unbeknownst to the sitting pair, Sirius and Narcissa sat laughing and smiling behind a cleverly maintained Notice-Me-Not and Silencing Charm. The wizarding camera in their hands had caught the entire scene.


	8. Chapter 8

It was a timid knock on the office door in the early hours of September 1st that snapped Tom back into reality, without looking up from the letter he was writing he silently opened the door and waited for the question Tom had guessed would inevitably come.

"You will miss me, won't you?"

Tom's head shot up, that wasn't the question he had anticipated. Taking in Harry's pyjama clad form, Tom's startled gaze softened slightly. While Harry had over the past month changed dramatically into a powerful Dark Prince thanks to the extra training his followers had forced onto him, Tom could still see that underneath the added layers of power, Harry was still the young boy that was only just learning what it was like to be loved and cared for.

Standing, Tom walked over the nervous boy before kneeling in front of him and gathering Harry into his arms. "Of course, I will miss you, my little snake. It will not be for long; Christmas will soon come around and you will see me again"

Harry sighed before hugging Tom tightly "I know, I am just being silly, aren't I?"

Releasing Harry, Tom stood before opening the door and stepping into the brightly lit hallway "walk with me". Making sure the young boy was following him, Tom began to walk. "You are not being silly, Harry. It is okay to get scared from time to time, you do not have to fear as I will always be here for you"

As their feet came to stop outside Harry's bedroom door the question that Tom had long been anticipating finally spilled itself from Harry's lips. "Come with me to the train?"

Tom's only answer was to drop a kiss onto Prince Deimos' head before ushering the boy into his own room to get dressed.

Crossing the barrier onto Platform 9 ¾ Tom scowled at the sights which greeted him. He could instantly recognise which families were Muggles formed from squibs, a sight which made Tom's scowl change into a sneer of distaste. In Tom's opinion all Muggles should be instantly killed with a quick Avada Kedarva between the eyes, dirtying the pureblood lines and causing more magical children to be born with reduced powers or no magic at all.

Remembering that Lord Velius couldn't be seen glaring daggers at muggles he changed his face into a neutral mask before he placed his hand on Harry's shoulder and steered him quickly towards Lucius, Narcissa and Draco with Bella following close behind still disguised as Lady Adriella.

"Lucius, my old friend, exciting day is it not? Our sons’ first day of their magical education. Do you remember our first day?"

Lucius laughed, trying to force himself to relax and talk to his Lord in the manner he would to an old friend, knowing that if he messed up, he would find himself on the end of a very powerful Crucio, or even worse.

"Of course, I remember! Headmaster Dippet seemed less than impressed to see two first year Slytherin's attack three third year students because they looked at us oddly"

Harry began to zone out of the conversation Tom and Lucius were having and instead turned to face Draco who seemed to be fighting the urge to kneel to his Lord. Harry couldn't shake the small frown that was marred his face as the pendant which he kept around his neck warmed slightly as he stepped closer to Draco. Lifting his hand and clasping it around the dangling object Draco smiled slightly.

"My P-Harry" Draco's eyes widened at his near slip of the tongue.

Harry waved it off "I have placed wards around us, to an outsider it will sound like we are having an avid discussion about quidditch, but be careful Draco, it is not the most powerful ward and it can easily fall with enough prodding.

Nodding his head eagerly at Prince Deimos' words, Draco continued with the statement he had stopped "I am guessing it is warming, I charmed it to recognise the true source and let the owner know when they are round the real person. It will be handy if somebody tries to trick you into thinking you are speaking to me...d-did I do the right thing?"

Smiling at Draco's sudden insecurity Harry clutched the pendant tighter for a second, letting himself reflect on the fact that somebody had given him something extremely precious and then went and added extra protection onto it. Draco's loyalty really was something to be admired. "Yes Draco, you did do the right thing, and I am extremely happy with you so do not fret, I would however in the future like to know if you add any other charms onto my objects. Understood?"

Draco nodded his head quickly in understanding. He would do anything in his power, and possibly more to make sure his Prince, was happy with everything he did. Draco had already come to terms with the fact that Deimos owned him in mind, body and spirit.

The loud "Harry, Draco, it is nearly time" brought the two boys out of their muse as Harry brought down the wandless wards he had set up and began to walk back towards their guardians.

Bella beamed at Harry, in the short period of time she had known the boy, she had felt the mothering pull towards him and did not have to fake the joyful smile and the hug she gave him having already felt the beginnings of the longing she would feel in the run up to Yule time.

"Now Harry, you behave yourself, you understand? And if someone is mean to you, you will write to me straight away, understood?" Bella resisted the urge to scowl at using the name Harry for over the past month she had become so used to calling the young boy Deimos. Putting her own discomfort aside she peered intently into Harry's green eyes before continuing "I don't want your first term of Hogwarts to be a bad one"

Tom couldn't stop the snort of laughter which escaped at Bella's words and also her actions for Tom had never seen his most insane Death Eater who was renowned for not having a heart and showing no mercy to now show such mothering instincts towards the boy.  
The glare that was sent his way from Bella gave him a small semblance of hope that his prized Death Eater was not going soft on him.

Smiling at Bella, Harry tightened his arms around her neck before speaking softly "I will behave Bella, and I am sure Draco will not let anything happen to me. Make sure you keep an eye on Tom and Barty, we both know they have to be kept in line"

Her delighted laughter made Harry smile as he walked towards Tom, while the situation wasn't perfect as he couldn't see the man that he had known for many years due to the disguise, Harry decided it was better than anything.

No words were needed as Harry wrapped his arms around Tom's waist and rested his head on his chest. Feeling his arm wind themselves around him they both stood in silence, relishing in the hum of magic that passed between them through the bond they shared.

The distant warning whistle drew them both from their silence as Tom reached down to sweep back a piece of midnight hair which had escaped the leather band which held his long hair back at the base of his neck.

Knowing that the train wouldn't wait for any student, Tom broke his gaze and levitated Harry's trunk into the waiting hands of the porter who was responsible for the safe delivery of all the student’s trunks to their dormitories.

As Harry began to board the train he felt his eyes begin to prickle with tears as he fought the urge to run back into the safety of Tom's arms and inhale his scent, a smell which over the past month had been a permanent feature in day to day life.

Tom was also fighting the urge to take Harry off the train and hold him close once more as he felt the rising panic and sadness through the bond from the young boy. Tom had already been worried as he was placing Harry, his young heir, the person who had been at the centre of his life for many years into the waiting arms of the man who had tried to run them apart and ruin them and the wizarding world in the process.

** _"Calm my little snake; I will always be here if you need me. I will make sure you stay safe, understood?"_ **

Hearing the familiar silky baritone voice wash through his mind Harry began to relax, even though they would be miles apart Harry knew that Tom would always be there to talk to him and perhaps even help him in lessons. Harry was going to make sure he did Tom proud by getting the best marks because the feeling Harry got from making Tom proud was indescribable.

"_I understand Marlo, it's just a bit different. I am going to have to be nice to Weasley in the public eye, aren't I?"_

"**_I am sorry to say but yes, little one, we cannot have our ruse falling apart just yet, but that does not mean you cannot make him do what you want. You and I both know that he will be under strict instructions from Dumbledore to make friends with you again, and that makes him weak, susceptible to slight manipulations. Do not let this chance slip Harry, it could prove most useful. Now, I will let you get on and make some friends, Lucius has already talked about how Draco is already friends with a few of our Death Eaters children. Appear strong and you will gain their loyalty just like you have successfully gained the young Malfoy's. Enjoy the ride and put your robes on soon"_**

Harry couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his smiling lips at Tom's change in attitude towards the end of his statement. Shaking his head in disbelief Harry began to follow Draco through the throng of children milling around in the corridors of the now moving train listening to Draco's soft voice as he counted each booth. With a slight triumphant smile Draco brought out his wand and ran it in a full circle, anti-clock wards before whispering a small phrase. Harry didn't catch what was said as a group of children ran past loudly. Harry resisted the urge to Crucio them on the spot.

Bella had been extremely proud of Harry when she found that he was able to perform the spell with extreme power behind it after only a few tries. Since that moment Harry had been using it on prisoners who he believed deserved it at any opportunity he received.

Holding the door open for the Prince, Draco bowed his head slightly and averted his eyes, something that Draco had decided he would do around other people who were loyal to his Master and Lord. With a triumphant smirk at the submissive show Draco was electing, Harry walked into the booth and let his magic flow freely, making sure it touched each of the occupants, letting it trail across their skin and trail around their necks and tightening slightly to show them that he deserved their attention, that he was in charge. Something that Harry had found he liked a lot.

The shudders of fear and slight pleasure from having Harry's dark magic trail across their skin had one boy fall to his knees like he had seen his mother do towards the Dark Lord only once.

Harry instantly recognised the boy as Blaise Zabini through his dark skin tone and high cheekbones, like his mothers. Blaise's mother had been a avid supporter for the Dark for many years, marrying and then killing off wealthy wizards to pay for the Dark Lord's missions, something that Tom had not asked her to do, but let her do so as long as she did not kill any purebloods, only those who had married muggles in the past.

The slight Italian accent that fell from Blaise's tongue was however a surprise as his mother did not have one, but Harry quickly covered his shock as listened to what the still kneeling boy had to say.

"My Prince Deimos, it is a pleasure to finally get to be graced by your presence. I wish to serve you, if you will have me with as much, if not more loyalty as my mother serves the Dark Lord"

At this Harry smirked before sending an appraised look towards Draco who had obviously told the group what he wanted. Their loyalty until he reached eighteen years of age where they would then also join the ranks of the highest-ranking Death Eaters.

Taking a seat on the one empty bench Harry spoke in a deadly whisper "Raise your head Blaise, come and look your beloved Prince and Lord in the eyes"

Harry was now in his element, the training he had gone through was finally showing itself and Harry was determined to use it to his advantage.

Looking into Blaise's brown eyes Harry's smirk become more pronounced, making his Avada Kedarva green eyes shine with a unearthly glow caused by the excessive magic he had that was swirling through his body and emitting itself from every pore, causing a slight wind around him, making his hair which he had released from the leather tie sway and float around his face. In that one moment Harry looked every inch like a fallen angel who would tear somebody to pieces without a moments' hesitation.

Blaise resisted the urge to lower his gaze from the intense gaze his Lord held over him. The sinister dark chuckle that fell from the dark red lips caused Blaise to shudder in fear before the whisper spoke again.

"You please me highly Blaise, you fight your fear and listen to orders. Yes, I am very pleased with you, you shall go far. Stand and sit, I am done with you for now"

Harry then turned his gaze onto the two kneeling females who Harry guessed were Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson.

Looking down at the sitting form of Draco who was silently reading a second-year potions manual Harry resisted to urge to roll his eyes. Harry knew that the minute he dealt with the two females he would stand at sit next to Harry before lifting his feet onto the seat and continuing to read. Draco was only sitting there because it made Harry look more powerful.

A movement from Pansy in the corner of his eye made Harry snap his head around "did I say you could move?"

"No, my Prince" was the terrified response

"Or even speak for that matter, disgraceful. I thought you would be better than this, being the daughter of an extremely powerful Death Eater. Be glad we are on a train otherwise I would have punished you for your impertinence"

Harry had noticed that Tom was dictating some of his words and actions but for that Harry was glad, as he wanted them to fear him, to show them just how powerful he was. Then and only then would how show his other side to them but he knew that they would always remember the first time they met Dark Prince Deimos.

Moving his eyes onto the deadly still and silent Daphne Greengrass he allowed Volos to slide down from his neck and onto the floor, watching with amusement as the girl fought to keep herself perfectly still as the venomous snake began to slide up and around her arm which had begun to shake in fear.

Deciding that the poor girl had been scared enough Harry spoke softly in Parseltongue _~Volos, I think the girl has been frightened enough, come back~_

Volos seemed to give a hiss of relief as he quickly slid back onto Harry's waiting hand before being placed back on Harry's neck _+thank you Master Deimos, you are a lot warmer than that human female+_

"Daphne, look at me"

Daphne raised her head straight away and the determined gaze that met his own took Harry by surprise for he had been expecting tears and worry lines. It was in that moment Harry realised why these people's family were Tom's Death Eaters and Draco's friends. That thought gave him hope for the future.

"I am impressed with what I see; I have known men to flinch in fear from even looking at dear Volos, never mind having him slide over you. Keep this up Daphne and I am sure you will go further than your parents. You my sit next to Blaise"

Now the only person left kneeling was Pansy, Draco had already warned him that she was a feisty one, and Harry was prepared to do anything possible to put the fear of Merlin and Morgana into her, regardless of what it took.

"Now, what am I going to do with you? Maybe I should punish you for disobedience. I know the Dark Lord has a fondness for Crucio, just because I am young does not mean that I am no less powerful. I was trained by the Dark Lord and the top Death Eaters myself. I could silence you and nobody would ever know what you were undergoing. What do you think Pansy? Come on, speak up?"

It was at this point that Harry realised that Tom was completely dictating what he was speaking and how he was acting. He could feel the Dark magic running through his veins, tingling and burning causing a pleasant sensation, making it feel like he was in the arms of Tom once more.

Pansy spoke, her voice strong and slightly reluctant "If you wished to punish me my Lord, I would accept it as it is something you wanted. I refuse to be a failure in your eyes, my father fought to get to the top and prove his loyalty because my mother kept him behind. I refuse to be like my mother who is a lower ranking Death Eater, I wish to show you I am better than my family, the best that can be"

At Pansy's words Harry finally regained control from Tom as he bent down and held his hand out for the young female to grasp "Stand and sit Pansy, I believe you will be loyal and brilliant"

Draco appeared to notice that Harry was finish as he stood with a stretch and smirked at the three on the bench before speaking "well now our Lord has got you all under his thumb, I can finally sit down properly, that is if my Lord permits"

Harry burst out laughing and dragged Draco down next to him before giving the shocked group a rugged smile, one that looked eerily similar to the smile Barty Crouch Jr. and Sirius Black would give when they were up to trouble or trying to woe an unsuspecting female.

"I am sorry to have scared you like that, but I needed to make sure that you were worthy and were going to be loyal to me regardless of how dark or terrifying I was. I will admit the Dark Lord was controlling a lot of my reactions and speech, but I agree with everything I said. I will not tolerate failure, spies or deceit. Understood?"

Three nods were sent their way before Harry checked his pocket watch "I believe it is time we got our robes on. We should be approaching Hogwarts any time now"

**Time skip**

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!"

Draco sneered at the sight of the Hogwarts ground keeper before turning to Harry "that's Hagrid, half giant I believe, got expelled for killing a girl, Myrtle I believe her name was. Big supporter of the light"

At the name Myrtle, Harry frowned as it stirred up a past memory, a memory that try as hard as he could he couldn't remember. Harry was sure to ask Tom about it later.

Harry zoned out of the rest of the half giant's incoherent speech and just began to follow the rest of the group until they reached a selection of boats. At this Harry looked around with an incredulous expression before turning to Blaise and saying "they actually expect us to ride in this! It looks like it will fall apart!"

Daphne eyed the boats with caution "it appears that we are to ride them. I hope Weasley over their falls in, it is not much but it would give the blood traitor something to feel ashamed of."

Boarding the rickety boat, they set off as Harry began to watch Ronald who was two boats ahead of them. Just hearing him speak make Harry's temper rises and the boat to begin to rock from an unseen force. Draco's hand on his shoulder was enough to break his gaze from the traitor, allowing him to bring his magic and temper under control once more.

The gasps of surprise brought Harry from his muse as he lifted his head to see what the commotion was about. The sight that met him was one of the most beautiful he had ever seen.

With its towering towers that seemed to touch the sky illuminated with soft white light in each window which curved and moulded into the stone, the main hall with its giant windows which acted as a beacon to any witch or wizard as the light spilled onto the water creating a soft glow which seemed to frame Hogwarts perfectly. Harry could see why Tom had spoken highly of Hogwarts and seeing it up close Harry knew that he too would feel as if it was a second home.

Reaching the shore, the group began to disembark and climb the steps that were cut into the side of the rock face which lead straight up to one of the doors leading to the main hall. Coming to a stop Harry watched as Hagrid moved towards the large wooden door and knocked three times, his large fist causing the sound to boom and echo around them.

As the door swung open Harry instantly recognised the women standing there as Professor McGonagall. Holding back a round of laugher as Harry realised just how accurate Tom's portrayal of her was Harry began follow her into a large room before stopping to listen to what she had to say.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses."

Harry zoned out of the next part of the speech as he already knew which house he would go into. Slytherin, the house of the cunning and the sly. The house that he was now also the heir of and the house which would be mainly responsible for the fall of the Light.

As Professor McGonagall moved away Harry noticed that the blood traitor Weasley was once again sprouting nonsense.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking"

At his Harry did snort, which caught the attention of Ron. His face changed from anger and being laughed at to surprise before finally settling on faked happiness.

Walking over to Harry quickly, Ron put his arm around Harry's shoulder before speaking loudly "Ah, Harry mate! I've been looking all over for you. Why don't you come and stand with me, your best mate. I'll introduce you to some more future Gryffindor's. You will definitely get into Gryffindor, just like your dad. I'm sure he would be chuffed that you took after him"

At this Harry sneered and took Ron's arm away from his shoulders, whilst hearing Tom's words in his mind Harry knew that on this occasion he could be horrible to him as Ron would once more try and sway him over to his side at a later date due to Dumbledore telling him so.

Levelling Ron with a cold glare Harry once again spoke quietly as to capture everybody's attention, something he had seen Tom do time and time again.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Weasley, I am not your best friend, nor will I ever be. I have plenty of friends already and I have no need for fake ones in my life. I also do not care if I go into Gryffindor as I would happily go into Slytherin. As for you saying my father would be proud to have me in Gryffindor, what are you basing that on? My father is dead so how do you know what he would and wouldn't think. When you have an answer for me, please, come and let me know and I will gladly listen."

The door opening caused them all to turn as Professor stood and assessed the situation with calculating eyes. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start. Please form a line"

Harry found himself placed between Draco and a girl with slightly wild hair that she had obviously tried to tame as the door to the Great Hall opened.

The sight that met him this time was nearly as beautiful as the sight he had witnessed in the boat.

Thousands of candles free floated around the place illuminating the sky that was charmed to look like the outside sky. Harry didn't need the girl's comment about the sky that was behind him to tell him that as Harry had already ready read all the information about Hogwarts.

Looking ahead Harry smiled at the sight of the tattered Sorting Hat as it began to sing the song that Harry had made Tom sing him as a boy when he had first head the story about the talking hat. To Harry it was nice to see that the stories Tom had told him as a child were true and not just elaborate stories to fuel his dreams and imagination.

As the first girls name was called and sorted into Hufflepuff, Harry clapped politely as he waited for the rest of their group to be sorted as Daphne had already made it into Slytherin.

"Granger, Hermione"

The girl with the slightly bushy hair started walking towards the seat and Harry found himself taking notice as to where the girl would go. She appeared quiet and quite the bookworm so Harry made the assumption she would go into Ravenclaw.

The hall fell silent as the hat started humming to itself after being placed on her head. The two seemed to be having a long internal debate before the hat looked suddenly triumphant and shouted  
"SLYTHERIN"

At this Harry actually looked on in shock as the girl who he now knew was named Hermione walked quickly towards Slytherin, her head held straight and determination set deep within her eyes. Harry decided he would take interest in her.

As Draco's name was called Harry had to roll his eyes as the hat did not even touch his head before shouting out "SLYTHERIN" once more.

As the group of first years slowly became smaller and Pansy was sorted in Slytherin, Harry waited until his name was called "Potter, Harry" Instantly the whispers slightly at his name and Harry shot a few of them a glare before confidently sitting on the stool. He did not even jump as the sorting hat's voice echoed in his mind in a similar fashion as Tom's did.

"How very curious, I sense two minds and one of them I have already sorted. I suppose you know Tom Riddle well don't you. Oh! I can see it now, yes Harry, or Prince Deimos I can see through you and Tom's shields. You will be a thorn in Dumbledore's side; this will be the most fun I have had in centuries. I think you already know where I am going to put you. Now off you go, and cause havoc. You are the son of a marauder after all"

The loud booming sound of "SLYTHERIN" caused the whispers to stop for a second before starting again furiously. Walking towards the Slytherin table where he was met with polite claps and confused yet interested gazes he sat between Daphne and Draco with a relieved sigh.

In the line Ron Weasley was slowly getting redder with anger which only turned into embarrassment as the hat finally called out "GRYFFINDOR" causing him to quickly scuttle towards an empty seat.

The four now waited for Blaise to be sorted, being the last first year left due to his surname. The group grinned as he too was sorted into Slytherin, making their group be complete once more. To Harry the start of the year couldn't have gone any better.


	9. Chapter 9

Harry's brilliant start to the year rapidly descended into what he believed was possibly the worst start in the whole of Hogwarts' history as the Slytherin prefect walked over towards him and passed him two wax sealed envelopes. Whilst the prefects face held no hint of curiosity, her eyes gave her away as she warily handed over the envelopes before speaking in a low murmur. "I trust it that you will make sure one of the first years saves you a bed, me and a few others will wait up for you. I will expect answers when you return."

He resisted a scowl; he did not like being told what he had to do but he nodded, making enemies with higher years would not bode well for him for he needed their trust and information as well as not having to check his own back in his own house. Face impassive he ignoring the curious glances his small group of friends were giving him and the blatant stare of interest the frizzy haired witch from across the table as he broke the wax seal on the first envelope and quickly scanned the contents, his hands balling into a fist of anger as he continued to read.

While Harry knew that he should have been expecting Dumbledore to want to him to come to his office for a "chat", Harry had not expected it to be on the first night. Putting the note back into its envelope, Harry reached for the second envelope before popping the Slytherin crest from the back of it. The contents of this note however had Harry raise his eyebrow in surprise. Tom had warned him that Severus would more than likely want to talk to him in private about his sorting into Slytherin and his role in the war. Whilst Dumbledore believed Severus was firmly on the Light side of the war, Harry knew differently.

Placing the crisp parchment back into the envelope Harry mulled over what Severus had written. The note had contained a warning for him not to look into the elder man's eyes and to be careful as to what he revealed to the lemon drop eating fool. Harry couldn't help but feel slightly insulted at this; Tom had told him that Severus would undoubtedly take a dislike to him due to being James Potter's son but Harry's comeback to this was a mixture of calling the Potions Master both immature and stupid for also bypassing the fact that he was also Lily Potter nee Evan's son.

Putting the issue of confronting the Potions Master to the back of his mind for later reference, Harry turned and lowered his head, allowing his hair to cover his face, efficiently blocking any attempts to read his lips whilst also allowing Harry to speak clearly into Draco's ear.

"I need you to save me a bed; I have been called to the Headmasters office for what I am assuming is not going to be a midnight snack. I do not know what time I will be back as the Slytherin prefect wishes to talk to me after."

Turning back to his food, Harry began to once more slowly eat his mashed potato whilst trying to hide the small quirk in his mouth as he heard the hushed tone of Draco tell the other boys in the group that they were to save the best bed in the room for him.

A bossy tone brought Harry from his moment of self-satisfaction and caused it to quickly be replaced with anger.

"What did the note say? It was obviously important. What was it?"

Every person in hearing distance suddenly fell silent before shocked murmurs erupted as the news was carried up the table. Whilst the Slytherin table did not make much noise as an unwritten rule for decorum and family image was to be kept at all times in public, the murmurs which were created from that one statement was enough to make a few staff members and students to raise their heads in confusion. Once the information had been quickly and efficiently passed along the length of the long table small conversations broke out as to not alarm any other members of Hogwarts that something was the matter. To an observant eye however they would notice that the entire Slytherin table had one ear and one eye on the proceedings between the first years.

"Who are you to ask personal questions?"

The girl named Hermione brushed her hair back and looked at him, "Your housemate obviously, there should be no secrets between us."

Harry could hear the disbelieving tutting and could see from the corner of his head the shakes of disapproval from the elder years. This was going to have to be dealt with-and dealt with quickly, he needed to show himself to be something otherwise there was no way he would be listened to in the future.

In a calm and quite tone of voice which if you were not looking into Harry's eyes you would believe that nothing was wrong he spoke, "I do not care what you think, I do not care that we are housemates and I especially do not care for people like you. When you finally learn some self-preservation and the Slytherin ways-for you are obviously a muggleborn; maybe, just maybe I will entertain you"

Deep down Harry knew that what he said was horrible and would upset her, but Harry knew that if he didn't put her straight now, she would receive much worse from the elder members of the group at a later date.

"How could you say such horrible things? I only wanted to know what the letter said!"

Letting out an audible sigh of frustration Harry looked her, eyes flashing dangerously as he barely concealed his anger "understand and understand quickly. Loudmouths and people who pry do not survive long in Slytherin. Unless you wish to be abandoned and tormented by not only the other three houses but also your own ‘housemates’ I suggest you learn when to keep your mouth shut and also how to turn a blind eye and create a deaf ear to others people's business. Do you understand?"

Hermione bit her lip and nodded her head to try and stop the tears and save giving herself away and keep a little bit of her dignity.

Looking back down Harry could hold back the scowl and sent the now silent witch a dark glare of anger due to the fact that he now possessed an empty plate as the main meal had been replaced with the desserts during his second "chat" to the girl-that-couldn't-keep-her-nose-out-of-other-people's-business.

Desserts had always been something that Harry hadn't been given the luxury of having as a child and even in the past month living with Tom, Harry had viewed them with distaste and caution as to him they served as a reminder of times he wished to forget.

"**_Not hungry little snake? No, it's something else, anger? Hurt? What is the matter my dear Prince?"_**

Harry, even with hearing Tom's voice couldn't shake the current mood he was in. _"It's this witch, Hermione Granger I believe she is called, interfering with my business, made my miss most of my meal. The old coot also wishes to speak to me after the meal and Severus has warned me to not look into his eyes. On the plus side I have now got a few more followers and have made it into Slytherin. The prefect wishes to speak to me after my meeting. Should I be worried?"_

Sitting in his office Tom opened his eyes in shock at this. He knew Dumbledore would want information from Harry as quickly as possible and begin to try and bring Harry closer to him, but Tom never expected it to happen this quickly. This was something that worried him.

"**_I will help shield your mind little one, he will get no information out of you that you do not wish to give. Remember, speak calmly and use your knowledge. He needs to see that you are not a boy ignorant to the world around you."_**

Back in the great hall Harry subconsciously nodded his head in agreement at Tom's words. He would show Dumbledore that he meant business.

Tom continued, **_"The prefects will want to make sure that nothing has occurred that goes beyond Wizarding Law. You were placed in Slytherin for a reason, so they will treat you no differently regardless of whom you are. They will be curious but cautious. Many of the seventh years will be joining me at the end of the year so once they receive their marks, you may reveal yourself to them if you so desire."_**

Pausing for breath Tom decided what he should say next, "**_I am assuming from the short pieces of memory I am glimpsing in your mind that this female is muggleborn. I am pleased to hear you have more followers and I am proud that you are a Slytherin; I always knew you would be. I will let you get going now my Prince, I believe dessert is nearly over and you have a trip to the headmaster's office to deal with. Take care of yourself my growing serpent, if you get hungry; just ask one of the prefects for the name of the Slytherin's personal house elf."_**

Bringing himself back into the room, Harry blinked and looked up at the face of the Slytherin prefect, "I am here to take you to the headmaster's office. Professor Snape will bring you back to the common room."

The prefect did not speak again until they left the Great Hall, turning the first corner the prefect stopped and held out her hand, "I am very sorry for the lack of introduction beforehand. My name is Gemma Farley."

Being the courteous Slytherin, Harry took her hand and pressed a quick kiss to the back of it. The amused smile and the small look of appreciation and satisfaction passed over her face before she reined it in. It was in that moment Harry appreciated Bella and Narcissa's constant lectures about etiquette.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Farley. I hope that we can become close allies in the future, and I hope to dispel some of the myths that surround the name Harry Potter to prove myself a worthy Slytherin."

Smiling to herself, Gemma began to walk them towards to the headmaster’s office whilst speaking softly, "Gemma, please. If you continue the way you currently are, Mr. Potter, you will have no problems fitting in. The higher years thought the way you dealt with Miss Granger's appalling behaviour was mature and appropriate for her lack of decorum. She has much to learn but I can already see that you are more than capable of changing that."

Stopping outside the gargoyle Gemma murmured a password under her breath before indicating with her head that Harry should go on without her, "I wish you luck, Mr Potter. I can already tell that you are not the person most people believe. I shall be waiting in the common room for your arrival later this evening."

As Gemma began to walk away Harry called out to her, his foot on the first of the stone steps leading up to the headmaster's office, "Harry, just Harry."

Gemma continued to walk away with a smile on her face. She couldn't wait to see what just Harry conquered in the future.

** Time Skip **

BANG

Severus looked up with a scowl on his face as James Potter's spawn threw the door to Dumbledore's office wide open and began to walk down the stairs before reappearing a moment later to stand in the still open door and speak to the headmaster in a low deadly tone.

"I would suggest headmaster that you learn, and that you learn soon that I am not your toy. I will do things my way and my way only. I do not belong to you; I have never belonged to you and I will never belong to you. I regard you highly for what you have done but trying to make me leave Slytherin for Gryffindor was a mistake. Slytherin is my home if you like it or not."

Severus at that point was torn between a myriad of emotions which ranged from anger, amusement and surprise at the words that came out of Potter's mouth. Severus finally settled on curiosity, while his Lord had told him that Po-Harry was of great interest to him, Severus had never understood why, but seeing how the boy spoke and acted Severus decided that he would play along and watch how Harry turned out. Maybe he wasn't the carbon copy of James Potter after all; maybe there was some hope in this endless despair. Though the anger needed to be worked on, some things never changed.

"Mr Potter, I believe you have said what you came here to say. Enough."

Harry turned around and closed the door with a wave of his hand; his eyes once more had the glow around them that Severus had seen at the order meeting. Noticing that Harry was not far from losing his temper and possibly destroying the whole staircase, Severus took hold of Harry's upper arm and dragged him down that stairs and set about walking at a brisk place towards the Slytherin common room where he would have maximum security, something that right now Severus needed desperately.

"If you do not let me go in the net three seconds Severus you won't have a hand left and will not be able to get it back. Potions Master with only one hand doesn't quite work"

They didn't make it to the common room as Severus pushed the mouthy boy into an empty classroom before binding him in place, voice low as he spoke "I would suggest Mr Potter that you quit this nonsense right now and quickly come to realise that if you don't you are going to lose yourself an ally in this little game"

** "_Listen to him little snake, you do not want to give Dumbledore any more of a reason to dislike you"_ **

Taking a deep breath Harry slowly relaxed, reigning the anger in before he opens his eyes to look up at the Potions Master "apologies, my anger is something I have not yet mastered"

"So I can see" Severus replied dryly though he accepted the apology, his Lord had told him to keep an eye on the Potter boy and he wasn't going to fail him by acting as immature as the boy. "Now, I suggest you follow me to the common room so we can talk about this little matter in more privacy. I know Miss Farley wishes to hear of this as well as a few...others" Severus has thought it appropriate to let the new wave of followers know of his mission with the young boy, more eyes made it easier to track the boy.

Nodding his head Harry let Severus lead the way as he obediently followed, there was no doubt in his mind that the group would consist of Tom's new followers though he did send the question out to Tom just to make sure.

** "_Correct my Prince; Severus has been informed that you are of interest to me and that I wish for your movements to be tracked, for this he will employ the help of my coming followers. However this gives you the chance to slowly show them your power. Get them to respect you-"_ **

** " ** _ And then reveal who I am. Have them loyal to me before they know of me. And Severus...is he to know who I am?" _

From the safety of his office Tom mulled this over before he sighed** "_Not yet, show your true self to him slowly. He will be under your power eventually and I want him to bow to you long before he knows he has no choice. Be wary little one. The castle has eyes everywhere and each wall listens, but she will come to your aid if she believes you are worthy. Do not mistreat the magic that is woven into her core, she is a friend and Dumbledore had her power caged in his wards. Show you are worthy are she will divert her eyes and ears"_ **

Smiling he runs his hand over the castle wall as they descend into the dungeons. Harry already knows the way from exploring the castle from Tom's memories but he lets himself get led, letting himself feel the excitement of seeing the castle with his own eyes. Tom had once walked these very corridors and that thought put a soft smile on his lips. Tom's stories had been real after all.

Listening to the password Harry made a mental note before he walked down the passageway as he tries to hide the look of glee on his face, he could practically feel Tom's curiosity to see if the room had changed at all after all the years before he heard the laugh of glee when the room finally came to view.

** _ "She hasn't changed" _ **

The room itself was strangely beautiful, with a slight haunting quality to it Harry could see why many would feel like the room was cold and an unwelcoming place to be, but Harry could see otherwise. The chairs ranged from low backed black and dark green leather sofas to earth green and ornate grand chairs with cushions that were plush and welcoming. The far end of the common room held what at first glance appeared to be glass that showed a clear view out into the lake; it was only when Harry got closer did he release that it was a sheet of ice that held the water back. Tom quietly explained that while there was magic in place to keep the water back, the ice had been an addition in his early school life when one Slytherin had fallen through into the water and then found that he was unable to get back through due to the magic in place.

Shaking his head at such idiocy Harry broke from his thoughts before turning his head to regard the sitting group of elder Slytherin students. Moving forward Harry sat on one of the free chairs, not looking up as he allowed himself time to compose his thoughts and get his nerves under control. This meeting would either sow the seeds that would lead to unbreaking loyalty or make them believe his was a young boy trying to be an adult in a dangerous war.

Looking up he gives the sitting group a slight smirk, mischief and magic clear within his eyes as he speaks up.

"I'm not the boy you think I am so...who's first?"


	10. Chapter 10

Walking out of the common room Harry allowed a smirk to cross his lips, the conversation with the older years and Severus had given them all a lot to think about and would without fail have them coming back to have those budding questions answered. From the true alliance of himself and family, to just why he was not scared by the name of Dark Lord.

Entering the dorm room Harry couldn’t help but smile at the sight before him. Draco as promised had saved a bed for him and unpacked the items which Harry’s trunk had allowed him access to. Seeing Harry walk in Draco turned and tilted his head in question, placing one finger to his lips Harry sits on the bed before motioning for Draco to come closer. Closing the curtain’s and throwing up a silencing charm he sighs, his shoulders visibly sagging in relief.

“This way we can talk without fear of our cover being blown”.

There were few moments where Harry felt comfortable enough to let his guard down but with Draco, he felt secure enough to do just that. Maybe it was having the power to destroy a person or perhaps knowing he had a friend, but in rare moments Harry could feel safe with somebody other than Tom.

Falling back onto the pillows Harry turns his head to regard Draco “before the Dark Lord took me in I thought I would be alone” tiredness and the safety he felt with the youngest Malfoy made the words fall from his lips quicker than he thought possible. Whilst Tom, Barty, Bella and even Sirius had begun to show him what love felt like they were all adults who at times forgot that Harry despite his power was still only a child “suddenly I am at the centre of a war playing such a major part”.

Shaking his head as to remove sudden thoughts from his head he sits up to lean against the headboard, now was not the time to open his soul to its deepest depths and share things with Draco that only Tom had access to despite the comfort he felt around the youngest Malfoy. “Dumbledore is very clearly aware of my part in this war and does not like the fact I have not conformed to his preconceived plans”.

The conversation in the office had shown Harry just how manipulative Dumbledore really was in trying to convince him just how disappointed his parents would have been knowing he was in Slytherin, and that as the saviour of the wizarding world it would be in his best interest to transfer immediately to Gryffindor.

Shaking his head Harry mused that he shouldn’t have been so surprised that Dumbledore had tried those tactics, for all the old man had known until that fateful day at Olivanders is that Harry had grown up with no knowledge of the magical world. He should have been easily to manipulate, easy to mould into the perfect Gryffindor Golden Boy in the image Dumbledore wanted, but instead his own game had been used against him. In Dumbledore’s attempt to bring glory to the light he had instead created a bond between two people that would ensure its destruction instead.

These tactics should have been expected but what hadn’t been was the rush of emotions that had flown from him. The thought of Dumbledore taking him away from his family after having caused the loss of his first one had created an anger and a deep-set hatred that Harry did not even have for the Dursley’s.

It was movement from Draco that brought Harry from his musings as he watched the boy shift to sit beside him “do you think he will try again?”

“Without a doubt” Harry replied, “but he won’t like it when he realises that I won’t be alone for future meetings”

At the confused look on Draco’s face Harry carries on “following my outburst in Dumbledore’s office Severus brought me to the common room where the prefects and some seventh years were waiting-”

“-The Dark Lord’s next recruits” Draco interjected.

“Correct. The Dark Lord had mentioned that the prefects would ask questions to see if nothing had occurred that broke the Wizarding Law-as it happens, I am classed as a minor and we can always legally bring a representative with us to any headmaster or head of house meeting. Strange for the headmaster-never mind the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, to not know the law”

Turning to face Draco completely he kept going “the conversation with the next recruits was interesting, they and Severus are unaware of my true position. All they know from the information Severus provided them is that I am of importance to the Dark Lord but I believe they have realised that I am not the Golden Boy they all believed me to be. I have a feeling Severus will be calling on me in the coming days to explain the power he has seen when I have lost my temper”

Twice now Severus had seen a portion of what Harry held within him. Whilst Harry was naturally magically powerful and with his core growing and expanding every day with thanks to his training and the nutrition potions Tom had forced down his throat, he was additionally helped with holding a potion of Tom’s soul within his body. A once foreign entity that had only grown stronger and more powerful over the years, a link between two wizards which Harry had begun to believe allowed for more than just transfer of thoughts and shown with Tom easily taking control of his words earlier today.

Whilst the conversation with the elder Slytherins had not revealed much in way of magical alignment, it had been a dance to show a small portion of Harry’s true nature. From his clear hatred of Dumbledore to his upbringing with the Moros family. For the seventh years this caused many raised eyebrows. The Moros family had once been as dark as Black and Lestrange. but had turned their back to the light so to see Harry with so much hatred towards Dumbledore made them begin to question all that they believed to be true. Harry had been betting on this, give them enough to make them come back but not enough that it would cause destruction if they ended up not being loyal. Harry did not know these people and he would make sure they could be trusted before his true nature was exposed.

“You can trust Severus you know”

This comment from Draco came as a surprise. Whilst he knew that Severus was extremely intelligent and powerful, he was one of the death eaters who had not been called in to train Harry for it appeared that Tom was weary due to how close he was with Dumbledore.

“What makes you say that Draco?”

At this Draco began to shift, suddenly unsure of if he was in the right to have said such things.

“He is my godfather, there are very few people in this world I trust more than him”

Meeting Harry’s eyes he continued, growing with confidence with every passing word. “I know he was not one of the invited to train you which means the Dark Lord is weary of his position”. Without saying anything Harry motioned for the blonde to continue. “All I will say My Prince, is that if Severus is making you question his loyalty it is because something would have happened to make him doubt everything he knows. Find that and you will solve your dilemma with him”

“You raise a valid point Draco, though I do not hold the information to prove this”

Casting a tempus Harry moves to stand “though I think it’s time we called it a night, Draco. Thank you for your insight and for putting many of my belongings away. You have been extremely helpful-I will see you in the morning for breakfast. I have a feeling tomorrow will be an interesting day”

With a nod of the head Draco stands, proud of the praise he had received but also glad he could go to bed. “Goodnight My Prince”

Placing a sticking charm to keep the curtains closed after Draco left Harry changes into his pyjamas and falls into bed, the conversation with Draco regarding Severus still playing in his mind. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to sleep without getting to the bottom of it he calls out for Tom.

_“Tom?_” Harry whispers in his mind, prodding at the link between them as he closes his eyes, falling easily into the waiting mindscape that had built between them _“are you still awake?” _

Many miles away Tom stops his writing and smiles softly, he had been expecting the young Slytherin to call for him many hours ago but had remained quiet to give the boy chance to deal and settle with the sudden changes and challenges with stating Hogwarts.

** _“You should be asleep little snake” _ **

Setting his quill down Tom places a quick drying charm over the parchment in front of him before standing. In the past month there had been no need for them to fall back into the old routine of seeing each other in their mindscapes but Tom could already feel the awaiting presence in the back of his mind-as if somebody was standing behind him, and knew tonight that would change.

Changing into a pair of sleeping pants and sliding between the sheets Tom closes his eyes and allows himself to fall into a dream like state, the familiarity brought about from years of the same routine practice taking hold of him with ease.

_“Marlo!” _

With a laugh Tom pulls the younger boy close, over the years the room they had created in their minds had become one of security and comfort. With comfortable sofa’s and a large fireplace, it had similar qualities to Tom’s office back in the manor-his mind all those years ago had created the scene based from memory to make it as real as possible.

Despite the short period of time since last seeing Harry, Tom had felt the emptiness and wasn’t quite sure what to make of that feeling. He had everything he wanted, the world at his fingertips and yet…

_“When did you first get suspicious about Severus?” _

Of all things he had expected to hear from the young boy, Tom had not expected that.

** _“What makes you ask about Severus, Harry?” _ **

Any thoughts about these sudden feelings disappeared and Tom’s focus shifted to that of the potion’s master. Taking a seat on the sofa closest to the fireplace he watched as Harry sat across from him, the small frame being engulfed by the large wingback chair-it would be a few years yet until he fit the chair correctly, but for the time being Tom could take pleasure in seeing his young Slytherin look so small.

_“It was something Draco commented on earlier this evening. Severus was never invited to the inner circle meeting, was never allowed to tutor me despite being a potions master and does not know my identity or place with you. You don’t trust him Marlo, so what makes you suspicious of him?” _

Tom couldn’t deny any of these claims, for the past few years he had noticed the reluctance in Severus and despite having two spies set deeply into the light with Bella and Barty, they could never gain the same information Severus could.

**_“It never used to be that way” _**Tom began**_ “Once, Severus was loyal to a fault, he was the one that brought the fake prophecy to my attention and told me that your parents had gone into hiding” _**

_“How did he know this? Not the prophecy-but that they had gone into hiding?” _

Tom shrugged **_“Dumbledore perhaps? Severus had gone to school with your parents and godfather, if anybody was going to find that information out it would have been Severus”_**

Harry stopped and considered this information for a moment, his teeth pulling at the skin around his thumb as he purposefully ignored the look Tom sent his way regarding this behaviour.

_“And he changed after they died?” _

With a hum in agreement Tom sent a mild stinging hex to Harry’s hand to stop his biting **_“On my return from being without a body, he heeded my call like many remaining death eaters, but he was more subdued. He no longer appeared as loyal to me”_**

Looking Tom in the eye Harry had a sudden thought _“did you ever tell him what really happened that night, Tom? Or have you allowed Dumbledore’s version of things to cloud his judgement? Severus is a smart man, but he can only form opinions based on the information he is given-and right now all he has in Dumbledore’s wrong story”_

Silence fell between them as Tom mulled over what Harry had just said. Tom had always assumed that his followers would not care how lead them to victory just if they got there, but maybe Severus was different. Maybe Severus needed that deeper understanding of what had happened to bring him back.

** _“Severus is as dark as they come, he comes from the Prince line who were notorious potions masters and supports of the dark cause. Light magic does not come easily to Severus despite how hard he tries and for many of the early years he fought his identity” _ **

Tom remembered how Severus refused to accept his true nature following conversations with Lucius. He could see just how easily Dumbledore would have been able to get inside of the potion masters mind, how easily he could manipulate a man fighting himself with false promises and information.

** _“I believe a conversation with Severus is well overdue” _ **

For a while both sat in silence. With Tom turning over new ways of bringing the potions master back onto his side and Harry considering his next steps.

_“Dumbledore wants me to transfer into Gryffindor”_

At this Tom laughs **_“good fucking luck to him” _**

With a raised eyebrow at the sudden language from the elder man Harry can’t help but shake his head. It was common for him to hear such language from Sirius and at times Bella-a Black trait apparently, but never Tom.

**_“You are as Slytherin as they come, always have been and always will be. Dumbledore just doesn’t like the fact his preconceived plans are falling apart. You have knowledge of this world, you believes you to have been brought up in the Moros household-a notorious dark family who only defected because of their love and fear for your life” _**At this Tom smirks_ **“He is three steps behind and doesn’t like that fact so instead he will try and claw he way back by making you feel like you’ve made a mistake”**_

Standing, Tom walks towards Harry and kneels in front of him**_ “You have not made a mistake. You are powerful and that grows every day and one day Harry, he will get what he deserves. Hell will bow to our names from the wrath we shall place on him. He tried to break us but instead Harry…” _**Placing his hand on Harry’s cheek he allows the connection between their souls to hum, magic passing between them as he speaks in parsletongue, in a language made for them**_ “he made us”._**


End file.
